Sharp's Travels

It wasn’t a very good day for me, my sore throat turned into a bad cold. I felt miserable all day. Bev came down and cut Cheri hair this morning and then Cheri and Bev were doing some sewing on Cheri’s new sewing machine. Now Bev plans on getting one like it. I did go out and take down the wreath and put it away. Paul came while I was doing it and was showing me an ad on a car and wanted me to check it out on the internet. This afternoon Cheri worked on her quilt and I took a nap. Paul and Bev picked us up at 5:00 pm to go down town for the car show. There wasn’t many cars and were back home by 6:30 pm.

They were having a sale at the local quilt store so guess where Cheri wanted to go this morning. Then she wanted to stop at Bealls to check on some shoes that were on sale. That was ok with me because I could go into Tractor Supply store and look around. I just left the store and was on my way to the truck when my phone rang. It was Cheri letting me know that the shoes that I wear were also on sale. So I went into Bealls and got a pair for me. This after noon I took a bike ride down to Dover Welding shop to ask some questions on the motorcycle lift. I needed to know what gauge of wire I have to install on the 5th wheel for the lift. When I got back I mowed the lawn along with the neighbors. Cheri worked on her quilt. After our evening walk we went for a ride to Dade City with Paul and Bev. They wanted to go to Bealls Outlet store. It was 8:00 pm when we got home.

We stopped over to Grandma’s and I put the charger on the golf cart. Then it was back to see Paul and Bev and find out if they wanted to go to a movie this evening. They weren’t sure if they could go or not and would let us know. I worked on waxing the truck and Cheri worked on her bed spread quilt. Late afternoon Paul and Bev called and said they would pick us up 4:30 pm to go to the movie. We saw Four Christmas’s and it was very funny. We all enjoyed it. After the movie we went back to Paul and Bev’s to play dominos. The girls won both games.

Merry Christmas to every one! We went down to the Rec Hall this morning to help set up tables and chairs for the Christmas Dinner. After we got done with the tables and chairs we walked down to see Hibbie and Jean. Jean was able to come home for the day from the rehab center. It was nice to see her home even if it was for only the day. From there we went to visit with Grandma. Then home to get ready for Christmas Dinner. After dinner we went to see Grandpa. He was feeling some better so we got him up and took him outside in the park. I wheeled him around the park and I think he likes doing that. This evening we went back down to the Rec Hall for a ham sandwich and some dessert.

We stopped by Paul and Bev’s for a short visit this morning to see what they were up to. We got home around 10:00 am. I went to work on cleaning and detailing the bike. The white wall tires needed a good cleaning and took be a couple of hours to get them looking nice. I don’t think they had ever been cleaned. I didn’t get done with the bike until 4:00 pm. Cheri defrosted and clean the refrigerator, made a cranberry salad for the Christmas pot luck diner tomorrow. We went to Candle Light Service this evening down at the Rec Hall. They had cookies and punch after the service. Cheri and I took our time coming home looking at all the Christmas lights.

We made a trip to the quilt shop here in Zephyrhills. Cheri took her wall hanging to have the quilting done. The lady that does the quilting has a lot of work and said it wouldn’t be done until around the first of May. Then we stopped at Big Lots, it’s the first time we have been there this season. Then we made a stop at the motorcycle shop to price an oil change and having a new rear tire installed on the bike. I can save over $200. by having it done there instead of the Harley dealer I don’t need it now, but will have it done before we leave here in the spring. Dean and Betty came over to play dominos this evening. Cheri and Betty beat us bad. Maybe next time if will be our turn.

It was a cold windy walk this morning and stayed cold all day with a high 59 degrees. We made a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up groceries. There were so many people that the parking lot was full. So you know what it was like in the store. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. On the way home we stopped at K-Mart so Cheri could make a return. We were home by 11:00 am. We didn’t go again out until our evening walk. Cheri did some laundry and worked on her wall hanging. I did some work on the computer and watch TV. My new GPS came today. I order a Garmin Nuvi 260W for $177.00, good price, normally sells for around $250.00 plus shipping. This evening we went up to Paul and Bev’s to play Five Crown.

After Church seven of us went to IHOP in Dade City for lunch. When we got home Cheri wanted to go to guess where? Yep Joann’s Fabrics, the best part is we get to take the bike. It was after 4:00 pm when we got home. This evening we went with Paul & Bev to do the Church Street walk in Dade City. Its about six blocks long, they close the street to the car traffic so you can walk down the street and listen to the bands at different places playing their music. Look at all the lights and decorations. They have free coffee and hot chocolate. All the churches on the street also have music going on. It was another fun night.

Cheri went over to see how Grandma was doing this morning. She said her knee was still sore but had walked down to the post office and back. Dean stopped over to return the carpet cleaning brush and visited for a while. When Cheri got back we had an early lunch and went for a bike ride up to Dade City to the quilt store. Cheri bought material for the back of the wall hanging she is working on and material for another quilt she plans on making. We took the long way back to Zephyrhills and stopped to see Grandpa. He was in bed and said that his stomach didn’t feel good. He did talk a lot today which was a good thing. Grandma came about an hour after we got there. When we got home we got ready to go with Paul and Bev to Plant City for the car show. We stopped a restaurant that we hadn’t been to before; it was a buffet and a little pricey for what they provided. We saw a lot of nice cars and Cheri found some she wanted to take home. It was a fun evening.

Cheri left at 9:30 am to take Grandma to the doctor for her follow up. She is still having trouble with her back and now a problem with her knee. While they were gone I worked on hooking the computer to the TV to show our Alaska pictures. Paul stopped over to visit then Bev came down. I wasn’t long when Cheri came home. We visited for a while. Cheri said we had to take Grandma to the Dade City hospital to have her knee x-rayed. Then we had a 3:30 pm appointment with a doctor across from the hospital. The doctor gave her cortisone shot in the knee. He said she was a candidate for a knee replacement, but is too old to have it done. It was 4:30 pm before we got home.

This forenoon I continued to clean the shed and reorganize the basement. I think those jobs are done for a while. Cheri continued to work on her wall hanging. This afternoon we took the truck and went to Dade City to eat at a Chinese restaurant we heard about. It wasn’t the best and probably won’t go back. We stopped there at Wal-Mart and then over to Win-Dixie’s for some groceries. Cheri was looking for some different kind of meals that Wal-Mart doesn’t carry. We made a stop at the Good Will store on the way home to drop off a few things. It was a very nice day with a high of 78 degrees.

We once again got our walk in before the sun came up. It was another beautiful day with a high near 80 degrees. I spent the morning washing the truck and it really needed it as it hasn’t been washed since we were in Wisconsin, shame on me. This afternoon I did some cleaning on the bike. Cheri spent her time working on a wall hanging until I asked her to go for a bike ride. Once again we went to Joann’s Fabric to return the lamp we bought yesterday. It was too high to set on the sewing table and didn’t shine the light in the right place. We brought a shorter one with an adjustable arm, it work perfect and clamps to the sewing table. On the way home we stopped to see Grandpa, Grandma was already there. We wheeled Grandpa out to the parking lot so he could see the bike. Then we feed the ducks in the park and I wheeled him around the park before taking him back inside. This evening we went down to Ken & Eileen’s to play Five Crown. Grandma also came down. Ken won two games and Cheri won one.

We received Grandma’s Life Line in the mail yesterday so I went to installed it this morning. On the way over to Grandma’s I saw Paul and Bev and they asked me what we were going to do today. I told them Cheri wanted to go down toward Tampa to a different Joann’s Fabric to look for the sewing machine case that was on sale. Paul said what time are going and I said in about a half hour. So after I got Grandma’s Life Line in the four of us headed out. Paul wanted to stop at a Wal-Mart down in that area, then on to Joann’s Fabric. Cheri got her sewing machine case and some small containers for sewing supplies. We got home about 4:00 pm.

We were up early and had our walk in before the sun came up. It is much warmer today but cloudy. After Church Ken & Eileen, Grandma, Cheri and I went out for lunch. We went to a new place call Ce Ce’s. They do a pizza buffet and it wasn’t that good, just average. This afternoon Cheri and I took a bike ride to Lakeland. Cheri wanted to go to Joann Fabric to check of a sewing machine case. Then we had to make a stop at Michaels for some Christmas shopping. It was 5:30 when we got home.

Cheri worked on Christmas Cards and I did some paper work. Late morning we made a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up my medicine and a few groceries. This afternoon it was more paper work and Christmas Cards. I got the table set up with Cheri’s new sewing machine. Now she is ready to create something, a quilt maybe. At 3:00 pm we went down to the Rec Hall to help set things up for the Potluck Supper at 5:00 pm. Cheri took baked beans for the pot luck and didn’t have any left to bring home. As usual the food was great. This evening we went over to Paul and Bev’s to play dominos. We guys won both games.

We got ready to walk this morning, opened the door and there was a heavy mist coming down so we canceled the walk. About 10:00 am Paul & Bev and Cheri & I made a trip to Camping World near Tampa. Cheri wanted a small table with adjustable legs on it. She wants to put her sewing machine on it to use. I also picked up some sewer connections for the 5th wheel. We were back home by 12:00 pm and it was time to get ready to go to Sea World in Orlando. Last summer Rick and Janice got eight tickets to go to the taping of Wheel of Fortune. So Rick & Janice, Dean & Betty, Ken & Eileen, Cheri and I went. It was outside and we waited in line two hours before we got a seat. They taped three shows and we stayed for two and part of the third before we left, it was just to cold to sit there with the wind blowing around us. Two thirds of the crowd had already left. It was neat to see how they go about doing the taping. They were there for three nights and taped three shows each night to be aired starting March 2 2009.The wind was blowing and the temp was 41 degrees on the way home. We stopped in Lakeland for a bit to eat and get something hot to drink. We got home at 10:00 pm. It was fun to see how the magic of TV works.

It was windy when we walked this morning and were supposed to get a bad storm and had tornado warnings out for most of the state. So I put the awning in and the bike in the garage. We both had doctor appointments at 9:00 am for our yearly physicals. It started to rain just before we left for the doctor’s office. While we were inside it rained real hard and when we came out the rain was almost over. We got home around 11:00 am and because of the rain we thought we would take in a movie this afternoon. The Telephone rang and it was the Sewing Machine store letting us know Cheri’s new machine was in. So we changed plans and went to get the sewing machine. Grandma rode along with us and treated us to Chinese for dinner. We got home around 3:30 pm. Then it was off to Wal-Mart to drop off a prescription and pick up some groceries. We did our walk and settled in for evening of TV.

I worked on putting locks in the saddle bags on the bike. It took me until 2:00 pm to get that job done. Cheri work on laundry and cleaning. She also made chili in the crook pot for supper, sure smells good. Mid afternoon we made a trip on the bike to see Grandpa and then to Dover to check on a motorcycle lift for the 5th wheel. It was 5:00 pm when we got home. It was very warm here today with a high of 82 degrees.

We stopped at Paul and Bev’s for a quick visit this morning. Cheri took Grandma to the doctor for blood test and got in to see the doctor as her cough that has been hanging on. She got a prescription for some antibiotics and dropped that off a Wal-Mart on the way home. After lunch we went to get a tank of LP and then to Wal-Mart to pick up Grandma’s medicine. When we got back Cheri and I put new legs on Grandma’s patio table that I made this morning. When we got home we decided to take a bike ride. On the way back we stopped at Applebee’s for supper. It was dark by the time we got home and then took our evening walk.

I had to be in Lakeland with the bike at 9:00 am. I had an appointment to get the handle bars changed and it was 40 degrees. I thought it was going to be a very cold ride, but turned out only my hands got cold (summer gloves). It was almost 1:00 pm before I got home. Cheri had shampooed the carpets. They needed to dry before she could vacuum so we took a ride on the motorcycle to Dade City. There is a quilt shop there that she wanted to go to. After our stop there we took a ride around the country side. When we got home Cheri did the vacuuming and I cleaned the bike. While on our evening walk we saw Dean & Betty and they asked us over to play dominos. The gals won one and us guys won one.

Paul picked me up at 8:15 am and we went to Webster for the car show and swap meet. I was looking for some air horns for the truck, didn’t have any luck. Paul got a pair of fender skirts for his 58 Chevy. It was very cool and windy while we were there. We tried to stay in the sun to keep warm. We got home a little after 2:00 pm. Cheri spent day with Bev and early afternoon went to see how Grandma was doing. We didn’t walk this evening; we both were tired and didn’t feel like doing it.

We were up early this morning and were down to Donna’s place at 6:30 am to set things out for the city wide garage sale. It’s supposed to start at 9:00 am, but people were already coming by 7:00 am. We had a lot of things to sell. By 1:00 pm we closed it up as we only had a few things that didn’t sell. We stopped by Paul and Bev’s for a visit. Later Paul and Bev picked us up at 3:30 pm and we headed for the car show in Dade City. It is always fun to see all the cars. Once again Cheri picked out about five or six cars she would like to have. Of course I seen a few that I liked. Around 5:30 the four of us went out to eat and headed for home. It was a fun evening.

It was a beautiful day, with a high of 75 degrees. This morning I went up to Paul and Bev’s to help install their Direct TV dish and cable. Paul hadn’t got the TV cable so we couldn’t do that but he did use our cell phone to call and get their land line phone hooked up. Cheri went over to see how Grandma was doing and went to Wal-Mart to pick up medicine for her. I came home and worked on the motorcycle. I installed a couple of helmet locks. When Cheri got home we had lunch and then Cheri had an appointment for a mammogram. I went back to Paul and Bev’s to install the Direct TV. Cheri and I both got home at the same time and decided to go and see Grandpa. We got him in the van and took him for a ride around town and into the park to see some of his friends. I don’t know if he enjoyed it or not. He wasn’t talking and wouldn’t respond to anything.

We had an appointment this morning at 9:10 am to get our blood work done for our physicals and didn’t get in until 10:00 am. They had somebody pass out so it put everybody behind. We were getting petty hungry by the time we got out of there. We went out for breakfast at the Sugar Shack, it was very good. When we got home Cheri took Grandma to the bank and to Wal-Mart for groceries. I got the bike out and went and filled it up with gas. When Cheri got home we took a bike ride to Lakeland and stopped at the Harley Dealer and made an appointment to have the handle bars changed on the bike. Then we went to a Sewing machine place to look at new machines. Cheri bought a new Janome Gem 660. We will have to go back to pick it up as there wasn’t room on the bike to bring it home. Also have to wait on another part that she ordered (platform) that fits around the arm of the machine.

It was a cold 35 degrees this morning; everything was white with frost on our walk this morning. When we were on our walk we see that our friends Paul and Bev are here. After breakfast we went up to see them. We are glad they are here as we have missed them. Paul and I already have made plans to go to Dade City Sat. night for the cruse in and look at all the cars. Sun. we are going to a car show and swap meet in Bushnell. Cheri and I went to Dover this afternoon to look at motorcycle lifts that we can put on the back of our 5th wheel. They had a used one that I am dealing on, have to wait until they contact the owner to see if he will accept our offer. On the way home we stopped to see Grandpa. He did a lot of talking again, good news. When we got home we see we have new neighbors above us. Bonnie didn’t come this winter and has rented her place.

It was a very cool and windy day with a high of 58 degrees. I didn’t feel like doing any work outside today. I worked on our Alaska trip pictures. I finally got 1550 pictures burned to a DVD. I kept sorting and cutting down on the 6,810 pictures we took while in Canada and Alaska. We took many more getting to our starting point in Canada. While I was working on the pictures Cheri went to see how Grandma is doing. She said her throat isn’t sore but is doing a lot of coughing. We went to the post office to mail out Grandma’s Life Link that quit working. Then we stopped at Wal-Mart to get medicine for Grandma. We stayed inside the rest of the day except for our evening walk.

Wow! Hard to believe it’s December already. We have been here for a little over a month; don’t know where the time has gone. We didn’t get the bad storm that they said we would get, did get some rain off and on during the night. This morning Cheri and I went to get a tank of LP and then to Wal-Mart to do some shopping. It was noon before we got home. The Life Link dialer we got for Grandma in the spring quit working. I made a call on what needed to be done to send it in for repair. We just got it in April and should be covered under warranty. This afternoon we went to see the movie Australia. We thought it was a very good movie. We were suppose to get rain this afternoon but was sunny all day, maybe rain tonight.

Grandma is under the weather today; she has a very bad sore throat and can’t talk above a whisper. After church Dean, Betty, Ken, Eileen, Cheri and I went to eat lunch at IHOP in Dade City. When we got home the wind was blowing very hard. So I put the awning in as it was whipping around. We are supposed to get a bad storm late this afternoon. This afternoon we Cheri and I went to see Grandpa. He was doing a lot of talking again today. We took the computer with us and showed him the pictures from our Alaska trip. When we came out of the nursing home it was raining. On the way home we stopped to see Jean Jensen and she seems to be coming along better. It was 6:00 pm when we got home.

We saw a very pretty sun rise on our walk this morning. Hibbie pick me up this morning at 9:30 am to help him get a hospital bed to have when Jean comes home. We had to go to Palo Beach to pick it up, about 85 miles round trip. Cheri went over to see Grandma and then to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. When I got home we had lunch and then I went to work on getting the one wheel trailer out of storage and put it together (with Cheri’s help). I got it washed up and put a for sale sign on it. Next Sat is the city wide garage sale and a lot of people will be coming through the park as lots of people put things out for sale.

We were up at 4:00 am this morning. We had to take Roger to the airport in Tampa. We left here at 5:30 am. His plane left at 7:30 am. Ken and Eileen rode along and on the way back we stopped for breakfast. When we got home we made a trip to the doctor’s office to make our appointments for physicals. Then we went to Lowes to get a couple of drapery rod holders for Ken and Eileen, also a stop at Wal-Mart. When we got back home we went down to Ken and Eileen’s to install the drapery rod holders. They had a couple of broken ones. When we got back home Cheri finished her laundry and cleaning. We also put of a 48 inch Christmas reef with lights on the front of the 5th wheel. I worked on adding a couple of pieces of chrome to the bike and finished the cleaning and waxing. Tomorrow I plan on taking some pictures. When we walked tonight we got to see how the Christmas reef looked after dark with the lights on, looks nice.

Happy Thanks Giving!! Cheri and I went down to the Rec Hall this morning to get our table set for our group for the Thanks Giving potluck. We ended up helping set up all the tables and chairs, table cloths and other things. On the way home we stopped to tell Ken & Eileen which table we would be setting at. Cheri left at noon to go down to the Rec Hall to help set out all the desserts. I got there just before 1:00 pm. We had a wonderful meal. The Park furnished all the turkey, potatoes, dressing and gravy. After dinner Ken, Eileen, Roger, Grandma, Cheri and I went to see Grandpa. He was the best that I have seen him in a long time. He talked and even joked some. It was a very nice visit. When we got home Cheri and did our evening walk.

This morning Cheri went with Eileen to get new shears for her drapes. I went over to Grandma’s to do some work. I extended the base of the air conditioner so the grass won’t grow into the unit. Then I got the chalking done around the vents on the roof and also put a coat of paint on them. Then I used the weed eater around the trailer. When I got home Cheri was back and was making a cranberry salad for Thanks Giving potluck tomorrow. After lunch we went for a 120 mile bike ride. It was too long for Cheri as her back was hurting. We did stop a couple of times so she could walk. This evening Cheri, Eileen and Roger went get new curtain rods. They couldn’t find what they wanted but did get some new mounts to replace the broken ones they have.

Cheri and I took the truck and went to the Harley Davidson dealer in Brandon to check on a new seat for the bike. We are looking for one that has a bigger passenger seat. We bought one and they said that we could try it out and if it didn’t work we could bring it back. We also bought a cover for the bike. We also checked on a new coat for Cheri like the one that I have, but said they didn’t have any. When we came out of the store it was pouring rain. It rained all the way back to Zephyrhills. When we got half way through town we drove out of the rain. When we got home we had some lunch and then I put the new seat on the bike. We went for a bike ride down to Lakeland to see if Cheri was happy with the seat. We stopped at the Lakeland Harley dealer to see if they had a coat, didn’t have one. It also rained some while we were inside. So I checked on some different bars for the bike. When we came out the rain was over and had a nice ride home. Cheri wants me to put her floor boards a notch higher to see if that will help. She said the new seat is much better then the old one. This evening we went over to Grandma’s to play dominos with Grandma, Roger, Ken, Eileen, Cheri and me. Once again the ladies one.

It was another nice morning and got up to a high of 78 degrees, a very nice day with no wind. Roger picked us up at 8:00 am and we went to Webster for the flea market. It is the largest one around the area. We never did get through the whole thing. We got tried and called it a day at 2:00 pm and headed for home. We were home by 2:30 pm. Cheri finished doing some laundry, relaxed and did some reading. I worked the rest of the day cleaning and waxing the bike. Our evening walk seemed extra long after all the walking at the flea market. I watched Packer football and almost made it through the third quarter before I fell asleep.

It was a little warmer this morning and was up early so we took our morning walk. After Church Ken, Eileen, Roger, Grandma, Cheri, and I went to Golden Corel for lunch. After lunch Cheri and I went for a bike ride to the Big Top flea market. We were looking for a cover for the bike, didn’t find one. We did end up buying chaps to ride in. We took a different route back home. Put on around 45 miles. We did an early evening walk and settled in for an evening of TV.

It was 36 degrees this morning and very windy which made for a very cold morning walk. We had a high of 61 degrees and the wind blew all day. So Cheri and I stayed in all day. We read, watched TV, and took a nap. I did go our late afternoon and worked on the bike. I put air in the tires, adjusted the shifting lever, and adjusted the highway pegs. We took our evening walk around 5:00 pm. I guess you could say this was our day to do nothing and we got a lot of it done.

It was another 35 degree morning and with a high of 60, it was nice in the sun but cool and jacket weather in the shade. Cheri and I took a short ride on the bike over to Lowes and Wal-Mart. I picked up some Black Jack to seal the vents on Grandpa and Grandma’s trailer. This afternoon I went over to Grandpa and Grandma’s to caulk the vents when my phone rang. It was my cousin (Nancy) from Wisconsin. She was in Orlando for some schooling for work and stopped in to see us. So we spent the afternoon visiting and went to see Grandpa. He wouldn’t respond to anything, never did talk, and just sat there with his eyes closed. I finished up the paper work on the bike and got that sent in.

It was 35 degrees here this morning. We didn’t walk this morning as we were leaving at 9:00 am to go and pick up our new (used) motorcycle. Grandpa and Grandma’s van wasn’t done in time to use it to get the bike. So Roger used Ken and Eileen’s car to take us. Grandma also rode along. I took along extra clothes, figured it would be a cold ride home. It was 11:45 am when we got on the road home and the temp was up and had a very nice ride. We stopped in Lakeland to eat lunch at the Chinese restaurant. We got back to Zephyrhills around 2:00 pm and went to see if the van was done as they told us it would be done by 10:00 am. Well it wasn’t done, ended up getting it at 3:30 pm. We were told it would take two days to fix it and it ended up being four days. I wasn’t a happy camper. Cheri got her first ride on the bike when I took her down to pick up the van. I will post some pictures of bike later.

It was only 37 degrees this morning and made for a cold walk. Grandpa and Grandma’s van was supposed to be done by this morning and I didn’t hear from them by 2:00 pm so I gave them a call and they said they were just finishing it up and should be done by 4:00 pm. So I told them I would be there at 4:00 pm to pick it up and he said I will call you. Well he called at 4:30 pm and said they had a wrong part and it wouldn’t be done until 10:30 am tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going to pick up the motorcycle and were going to take the van. Well Roger is going to use Ken and Eileen’s car and take us over to get the bike. I work on our Alaska trip pictures and did the paper work for the motorcycle. Cheri worked all day on organizing her recipes. She has a stack about a foot and half high. Wow! I should be getting a lot of good and different meals.

This morning we went down to Ken and Eileen’s to help them get settled in for the winter. Cheri wash windows and vacuumed among other things. Roger and I took the washing machine apart and couldn’t find out what was making the noise so we put it back together and it didn’t make the noise anymore. Roger power washed the patio and I cleaned out the gutters. Then I installed their Direct TV receivers. I couldn’t get any signal; I think the LMB is bad. I made an appointment for the repair man to come. This afternoon Cheri went back down to Ken and Eileen’s to do more work and I went over to Grandpa and Grandma’s to fix the carpet and reinstall some base trim that had come off. There was a sign of possible leak around the exhaust vent so went up on the roof to check it out. Everything seems ok but I am going to get some more sealer for around the vent. Mid afternoon I went to Dade City to pick up Ken and Roger as they had taken Ken and Eileen’s car to the garage to have the real window fixed. Then I took them back to pick it up late afternoon.

It was 38 degrees here this morning and there was frost on the truck, with only a high of 59 degrees. This morning we took Grandpa and Grandma’s van in to have the air conditioner fixed again. We had taken it in this passed spring and they put in a new pump and condenser for $680.00 and now it needs a new evaporator to the tune of $758.00. They have to take out the entire dash to put it in. They said it would be late Tuesday before it would be done. I was Gay the plumber today. I had to put a new cartilage in the kitchen faucet. It is a Moen faucet and there is a life time guarantee on it. I called the company and told them that we had a leak and it was in the cold position. They sent the parts need at no charge. So now that job is done also cleaned out the sink trap that had also leaked. On our way out of the park to get LP gas and groceries we stopped to see Ken and Eileen. Eileen has a problem with her washing machine. Roger and I plan on working on it tomorrow. Golden Corel is giving all veterans a free meal between 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm so we decided to go at 5:00 pm. When we got there they had a line of people all the way around the building. We didn’t want to wait so we went to the Mainely New England restaurant

It was windy and cool here today with a high of 60 degrees. Today was the first church service here in the park. We had 36 people come and had coffee and cookies after the service. After church Grandma, (Carrol Grandma’s friend) Cheri and I went to see Jean Jensen who is in the hospital, she had a stroke and has lost some movement on her left side. She was so good to Grandma while we were gone this summer. She took Grandma to all of her doctor appointments. Grandma came over for lunch and to watch some of the Packer game before she went to see Grandpa. Cheri and I watched the game and also the NASCAR Race. Cheri also took a nap. Ken and Eileen got here around 6:30 pm.

Last night we watched the space shuttle go up. It’s the second time we have seen it go up from here in the park. It was partly cloudy and wasn’t able to get a good view of it until it got up pretty high. I took a couple of pictures, but they didn’t come out. Friends of a couple from across the street came in with a big 5th wheel and they asked me if I would park it for them. The site they had to get into was pretty tight and he just got his truck and 5th wheel and was afraid to try and park it himself. They are from Canada and don’t speak English so we needed a translator. Cheri went over to see how Grandma was doing and she seems to be over her cold now. Being it was another muggy day we didn’t do much. We went down to the Rec Hall at 2:00 pm to get things set up for our pot luck supper. The pot luck started at 5:00 pm. We had 61 people and a lot of very good food.

Cheri went over to see how Grandma was doing this morning and I worked on getting a casher check from the bank for the motorcycle and got the insurance changed over to the new bike. Later Cheri and I started putting together pictures of are Alaska trip to show people. It’s going to be a big job as we have so many to choose from. This afternoon on our way down to visit Grandpa we stopped and made an appointment to have the air conditioner fixed in Grandpa and Grandma’s Van. We took Grandpa out into the park and feed the ducks and squirrels. We also pushed him along the walk way around the park. On the way home we stopped by Wal-Mart and got the new hub caps for Grandpa and Grandma’s van. It was another warm and humid day with a high of 83 degrees.

It was a hot and very muggy day with a high temp of 84 degrees. We left here at 8:30 am this morning and drove 93 miles to Lake Mary which is north of Orlando to look at a Harley Road King motorcycle. It turned out to be what I was looking for and it was a good price. So I put some money down on it and now have to get cashiers check from our bank for the balance. We stopped back in Lakeland to have a late lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant. After lunch we did some shopping and one stop I had to make was Harbor Freight, one of my favorite stores. I bought a motorcycle lift to use on the new motorcycle. It was 3:30 pm before we got home. We stayed in where it was cool and didn’t walk until after dark and it was still very warm.

We had a high of 81 degrees today. Cheri took Grandma for her doctor appointment today and then to Wal-Mart to pick up medicine that she couldn’t get yesterday. I did more work in the basement, I got the painting done. I ordered some wheel chocks for the 5th wheel. I saw some that a fiend showed me that he had gotten. He said they are the best ones. Their web site is www.rotochok.com I also ordered a digital picture frame to put our Alaska pictures on. About a week ago we were watching Good Morning America and they had a segment on snoring. They showed three different things people used to stop snoring. One of the items was called Pure Sleep. I have snored for several years and have tried nose strips, sprays, and pillows and nothing worked. I ordered the Pure Sleep and have used it the last two nights and no snoring. Cheri is very happy as now she can get a good night sleep. Their web site is www.puresleep.com

I started cleaning the basement in the 5th wheel today. I took everything out and washed everything down. It turned out to be an all day job and I am still not done. The front part of the basement is steel so a person could install a generator. The paint is starting to come off so tomorrow I am going to give it a new coat of paint. Cheri took Grandma to the eye doctor this afternoon and she got a good report on her eyes and doesn’t have to go back for a year. They stopped a Wal-Mart to pick up some medicine for Grandma. Some where between the doctor’s office and Wal-Mart things got mixed up and Grandma wasn’t able to get the medicine she needs until tomorrow. Cheri had to make a couple of calls to get things straightened out.

We walked early this morning, a little cool but nice with no wind. I took Grandpa and Grandma’s van to Wal-Mart for new tires and then to Home Depot to get a new security light for Grandpa and Grandma. When I got home Cheri took the van down to the doctor’s office to get new medicine subscriptions for Grandma as she kept getting a busy signal on the phone. When she got home I could see one of the hubcaps was missing on the van. So I went back to Wal-Mart to show them one was missing. They are going to order new ones for us at no charge. This afternoon Cheri work on our health insurance for next year. I went over to Grandpa and Grandma’s to install the new security light. Our neighbors arrived from Canada yesterday and got a chance to see them today. I helped Lloyd readjust his satellite dish so he could get TV. It turned out to be a bad connection in the trailer.

We didn’t walk this morning as we went to early church. Grandma didn’t go as she is still under the weather. After church we went to Wal-Mart to pick up medicine for Grandma. I got a price on new tires for Grandpa and Grandma’s van. Maybe tomorrow I will take and have them put on. This Afternoon Cheri went over to visit with Grandma and I watched football and the NASCAR Race. I am late getting this blog posted as I somehow got the key board on the computer locked up and couldn’t get any keys to work.

Today was a good day. A guy came from Lakeland to look at our motorcycle. After a short ride he came back and said he would take it. So we filled out the paper work and I helped him load it on the trailer he brought. Now I am looking for something bigger that Cheri and I both can ride on and be conferrable with. I did an e-mail to a guy about a Road King, waiting to hear from him. While I was selling the bike Cheri went over to see how Grandma was doing. She still has her sore throat so she won’t be going to see Grandpa. Cheri and I along with Grandma’s neighbors with their little dog Jack went to see Grandpa. Grandpa was glad to see them and smiled when he saw Jack. We took him out into the park to sit and talk. Grandpa did more talking then any other time. We were surprised how much he talked. On the way to his room he said to one of the nurses I had a better day then you.

Cheri is still cleaning and did laundry today. I worked on removing the pin box extension, readjusted the pin box and gave it a paint job. Late afternoon I took the motorcycle out for a short ride. It was a beautiful day with a high of 78 degrees. We saw a beautiful sunset on our evening walk.

Cheri is working in the kitchen cleaning cabinets, a few more days and she should be done. I worked outside on the house batteries. I got new house batteries and they don’t fit real well, so I did some modifying to the battery tray. I also cleaned out all the corrosion and painted the tray and inside the closure. We thing looks brand new now. This afternoon we went to see Grandpa. He seemed the same. We took him outside in the park so he could feed the squirrels and ducks. Cheri had brought along some bread to feed them. I think he enjoyed that. We also pushed him around the park. Grandma didn’t go to see him today as she has a sore throat.

Cheri took Grandma for her blood work and a few stops that Grandma need to do. When Cheri got home she started doing paper work for Grandpa and Grandma. She tried making some calls to get some help and couldn’t get to a live person. She tried about five different numbers. I was upset that she couldn’t any help so I got on the computer and looked up the phone number of the State of Florida Representative for our district and had Cheri call him. That did the trick; within an hour we got a call from a person that could answer all of Cheri’s questions. Sometimes you just have to go a little higher up the ladder. I cleaned the drawers in the entertainment center.

We never got to see any sun today. It was very cloudy with a high temp of 65 degrees. Cheri and I work on cleaning cabinets today. It was also a good chance to get rid of things we didn’t use anymore. We should have done this before we went on our trip to Alaska. Kind of dumb to haul the extra stuff all that way and now get rid of it. After we walked this evening we made a trip to Wal-Mart to get some groceries.

Cheri is still doing her fall cleaning and I did some odd jobs around the 5th wheel. I also waxed the motorcycle. By 3:00 pm we were both pooped and rested. We didn’t do our evening walk until after supper. With the time change and a stop along the way to visit it was after dark before we got home. We had a high temp of 78 degrees today, my kind of weather.

This morning I escorted four ladies to church. It’s not every guy that gets to be a stud. Grandma came over for dinner and to watch the Packer play. Cheri cooked a pot roast with carrots, potatoes, and onions in the crock pot. Sure did smell good when we got home from church. Grandma left to go and see Grandpa at half time in the football game. The Packers lost in overtime. After the Packer game we watched the NACAR Race. It started raining around 1:00 pm and didn’t quit until about 8:00 pm. It was a good rain and we needed it.

I was up early this morning, guess I went to bed to early last night. Usually I shower and get dressed after breakfast and our morning walk. This morning everything was opposite. I did mow lawn this morning also did the neighbors lawns on both sides of us. Cheri continued with her fall cleaning. I advertized the auxiliary fuel tank that I have on the truck for sale on the internet. I want to get one that doesn’t interfere with turning. At 1:00 pm Grandma, Cheri and I went to see Grandpa. He seems much better today then the last time we saw him. He even talked some today. We pushed him out in the park and sat there for over and hour. Then I pushed him around the park and I think he liked that. Then we went back inside and sat for awhile before he wanted to go back to bed.

Happy Halloween!! It’s hard to believe that this is the last day of Oct already; don’t known where this month has gone. Cheri continued her spring cleaning, she had several honey due jobs for me. It got the motorcycle put up for sale on Greg’s List. If I can sell it, I would like to buy something bigger like a Harley Road King. We also are getting back into the swing of things, did our morning and evening walks.

It was a beautiful day with a high of 71 degrees. Cheri spent the day doing more spring cleaning. I got the motorcycle out of storage and had to take it for a short ride. On my way back into the park I stopped to see Bud Avery to schedule a motorcycle ride and he said he didn’t bring it with him this year. I checked out Grandpa and Grandma’s van. I put some oil in and aired up the tires. I also aired up the tires on the golf cart. Some more people arrived from the north today.

It was cold here this morning with a temp of 37 degrees and frost. We only seen 3 days this cold since we left Florida in April. It did warm up to mid 60’s. Cheri started her spring cleaning and getting things out and set up for the winter. I got the awning out and staked down, changed the water filter and some other miscellaneous jobs. We did our morning and evening walk around the park and see that there are six units for sale. This afternoon Grandma and we went to see Grandpa. We didn’t think he looked very good. He did walk about 30 feet in the parallel bars. He won’t talk, just nodded his head and says he can’t hear. We picked up a tank of LP while we were out.

We were packed up and on the road by 8:00 am. We had about 350 miles to go to get to Zephyrhills. We arrived at Baker Acers campground around 2:00 pm. By getting an early start we got everything set up for the winter. We stopped over to see Grandma and she wasn’t home so we started out of the park to get groceries when we met her coming in. She also wanted to go for groceries, so we went together. It was very nice here as the temperature was around 73 degrees. For our trip from Zephyrhills to Alaska and back to Zephyrhills was 17,177 miles. Our fuel mileage was 9.04 MPG. We used 1,899.1 gallon of fuel. The average price of fuel was $4.636 per gallon. We left Zephyrhills on 4-24-08 and returned on 10-28-08. It was a great trip with a lot of new friends and memories.

We were up early this morning so we could say our goodbyes to Jodi and Darren before they left for work. After we got the truck packed up we headed for the campground to get our 5th wheel out of storage. We were on the road and headed south by 10:00 am. We arrived at our campground in Unadilla, Georgia at 2:00 pm. By the time we got everything set up and the truck unpacked and things back in there place it was 3:30. The rest of the day was spent on computer work.

It was another nice fall day. We all went to late church this morning. Jodi make potato salad for lunch and Darren did brats on the grill. It’s been a while since we’ve had brats and potato salad, sure was good. The Packers didn’t play today as they had a by. So we watched the Jets play and also watched the NASCAR race. We had pizza for supper and then watch 3 episodes of the Biggest Loser that they had recorded. If a person wants to lose weight this show is a good moral booster. It is something we need to work on this winter.

It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the mid 70’s. It was a fun day for all of us. The four of us went out for breakfast at the Duluth Dinner. It was a very good old fashion breakfast. When we got back home we split up. Cheri and Jodi went to the mall and other stores shopping for the day and Darren and I went to the Harley Davidson dealer. We checked out the new and used Road King bikes. For a while I thought Darren was going to buy one. I am going to wait until I get to Florida before I get serious. I have to sell my Sportster first. Darren and I both bought new jackets. When every body got home we had Mexican leftovers for supper. This evening we went to the movie and saw Body of Lies. It was a fair movie.

It rained all day so we stayed inside. We read our books and watched some TV until Darren and Jodi got home. They took us out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. It was very good and brought home enough for another meal. When we got home we watched some more TV and called it a night. It was still raining when we went to bed. It was a good thing because it is very dry here and there is still a water band.

It was a cool windy day. I think its time to head south. I used Cheri’s new I-Pod while walking on the treadmill. It works really nice, maybe I should get one. We spent most of the day doing paper work for Grandpa and Grandma. Cheri fixed a pot roast with onions, carrots, and potatoes in the crock pot for supper. After supper the four of us made a trip to Wal-Mart. Darren wanted to pick up a new music CD.

It was another cool morning but turned out to be a nice sunny day with a high of 64 degrees. I took Cheri to the mall to have her hair done. So I got to walk around the mall and shop. My shopping doesn’t take very long, although I did spend quite a bit of time in Sears checking out all the tools. I also made a stop at Radio Shack to check out the GPS units. Ours quick working yesterday and will replace it when we get to Florida. Cheri’s hair looks very nice and I think she is happy the way it came out. She had high and low lights added. Cheri and Jodi fixed supper and then we watched TV for the evening.

This morning we went to the mans store (Northern Tools) to do some shopping. It was fun looking around and I didn’t buy anything. Then we stopped at the Camp Bow Wow here in Duluth, we wanted to compare it the one Kari and Jason have. Kari and Jason’s is much nicer. This one had way to much stuff in the small front lobby and first impressions are every thing. Then we went to Discovery Mills Mall so Cheri could shop. I think I wore her out because she was ready to come back home before we got through the whole mall. Cheri had supper ready for Darren and Jodi when they got home from work.

It was a cool morning of 42 degrees. I did my 1 ½ miles on the treadmill this morning. We tried to do some computer work for Grandpa and Grandma today, but the server was down for repair so maybe tomorrow we can get that done. I did some more uploads of music on Cheri’s I-Pod. When Darren and Jodi got home we order in from Pizza Hut for supper. We watched some TV and called it a night.

It is starting to cool off here; we had to close the windows last night. The temp got down to 45 degrees last night and is going to be colder tonight, talking about some scattered frost. We went to early church this morning. After church we did some shopping, Cheri had a store she wanted to go to. On the way back to the house we stopped at the grocery store to get a pizza to have for supper. This afternoon Cheri and I read, watched TV and napped. It’s a tough job but someone has to do it. We left here at 7:30 pm for the airport to pick up Darren and Jodi. They had a good time on their cruse.

Today we headed for The Atlanta Cyclorama. It is a big two story building that contains a museum with a collection of Civil War artifacts, weapons, displays, maps and photographs. The “Texas” is featured on the main floor of the Cyclorama, one of the steam locomotives used in the Great Locomotive Chase in April, 1862.

We spent about 1 hour looking through the museum and met at 11:30 by the front lobby to take the tour of the major feature of the Cyclorama, the massive painting in the round and three-dimensional diorama.

We were escorted into the theater to watch a film that covers the history leading up to the Battle of Atlanta. Then it was off to the circular theater that houses the large painting. It is 42” high and 358” long, wrapped in a circle. You file into the tiered central seating. Each section of the painting is viewed from the slowly rotating seating and a guide points out the highlights of the painting. There are three dimensional figures at the base of the painting. It is hard to tell where the painting actually starts.

This is a must see for all you Civil War addicts.

For more information on the Atlanta Cyclorama go to: http://roadsidegeorgia.com/site/cyclorama.html

We stopped at the Sidelines restaurant for dinner and then at Home Depot for new water filters for the 5th wheel.

Back home again, Gay got to watch the truck races on TV and I tried to read, but my eyes had a different idea.

It was a rainy day so once again we stayed home and took it easy. This morning I got on the treadmill and did my 1 ½ miles. I am so far out of shape I wasn’t sure if I would make it. As soon as we get to Florida we need to get back into a routine of walking and working out, also means a diet to shed a few pounds.

It was another slow day for us. We spent a big part of the day working on paper work for Grandpa and Grandma. This afternoon we made a trip to Wal-Mart to get groceries and a few odds and ends. Late afternoon we watched TV and read. Cheri is having fun playing with the cats, Yah me too.

We have talked about going to the Civil War Museum in Kennesaw and today was the day.

We were ready to head out by 10:30 am. The traffic wasn’t bad. It was located about 20 miles from Atlanta, just off HWY 75. First we did the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw.

We read about the personal accounts of life during the Civil Was through the photographs, weapons, uniforms, and personal effects of the soldiers and learn the vital role the railroads played during the conflict.

Glover Machine Works worked tirelessly to build locomotives that helped rebuild the South after the Civil War. Located here is a full-scale reproduction of a belt-driven locomotive assembly line. It shows you the building process, including a pattern shop, factory equipment and two locomotives in various stages of completion.

We saw an exciting movie on the Great Locomotive Chase when Conductor William Fuller chased Andrews Raiders when they stole the locomotive “The General” to cut off the rail supply lines to the South. The General is restored and on site there.

We also visited Kennesaw Mountain, a 2,888 acre National Park, where in 1864 William T Sherman’s advance toward Atlanta was delayed for two weeks at Kennesaw Mountain by Confederates under General Joseph E Johnston. The unsuccessful attack produced 3,000 casualties, primarily at Cheatham Hill. Fifty years later, surviving Illinois veterans dedicated a monument at that location to their fallen comrades. Preserved here are the strong earthwork trenches largely responsible for the temporary Southern victory and the remains of a tunnel that was being dug to blow up the enemy.

We returned home by 6:30pm and caught up on a few favorite TV shows.

Today was a very lazy day. Gay put more songs on my I-pod and we both read off and on all day. We didn’t even go out of the house today. It was fun being lazy. We also watched the new shows on TV this evening.

We made a trip over to the 5th wheel this morning to pick up a few things that we forgot to bring to Darren and Jodi’s for our stay there. While we were at the 5th wheel I checked on the house batteries and found them to be almost dead. I knew they were going bad. They are only three years old and thought they would last longer. So we came back to Darren and Jodi’s so I could do some searching on the internet for new batteries. I was going to get new Interstate batteries, but not a very good review on the internet. Thought about going to Wal-Mart, but found out that a lot of their batteries are supplied by Interstate Batteries. We ended up going to Batteries Plus and we got two Trojan T105six volt golf cart batteries. They should last five to seven years. The rest of the day was spent backing up the computer, reading and watching TV.

We were up early this morning. We left here at 6:15 am to take Darren and Jodi to the airport. Their flight was to leave at 8:50 am for Miami; they have to be on the cruse ship by 2:30 pm. When we got back we went to church and then spent most of the afternoon putting music on Cheri’s new I-pod and watching football. It was nice to see the Packers win again. Cheri is having fun playing with the boys (cats).

We all took our time getting around this morning. Darren and Jodi took us out for a late breakfast. After breakfast we headed back to Darren and Jodi’s. Jodi and Cheri went out to have a manicure and pedicure. Darren worked on our computer getting in all the updates and taking care of other issues I had. When the girls got home we went out for a sandwich and then to the grocery store. We had to buy our lottery tickets. Then it was back to Darren and Jodi’s for a night of TV.

It was very foggy when we got up this morning. By the time we got our bags packed to take to Darren and Jodi’s and had breakfast at Cracker Barrel the sun had started to burn off the fog. We were on the road by 9:00 am. We arrived at Jones’s RV Park at 11:30 am. We put our 5th wheel in storage for two week as we will be staying at Darren and Jodi’s house sitting with their cats while they go on a week long cruse. Darren had the day off so we went over to their place and unloaded all our bags. Darren, Cheri and I headed north to the Mall to get some lunch and do some shopping. With Darren’s help we bought an I-Pod for Cheri. When Jodi got done with work she met us at Target to do some more shopping. When we got back to their place Jodi fixed us supper and Darren show me how to put our CD’s on the I-pod. Later we watched some TV and called it a night.

We left the campground at 9:00 am and headed for Atlanta. Our route took us down hwy 12 to hwy 53 to I 290 to I 294 to I 65. I drove right by the first toll on the toll road. They have really changed things since we had last been through this area. When we got to the next toll I told them what I had done and wanted to know if I could pay the toll there. They gave me a pink slip and said to send in the $2.25. The roads in Illinois are very bad, the worst since being in Alaska. We spent the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot about 30 miles north of Chattanooga. This is the first time we have stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot. It was 10:00 pm and to late to find a campground. There weren’t any other campers there, but a lot of long haul trucker. There was a Cracker Barrel right across the street so we got a late supper and went to bed.

We had plans to meet Katherine & Bro and head for Kenosha, WI to check out the new Civil War Museum and when we tried to back out of our site here at the campground we found out we were stuck. It had rained all through the night and the truck sunk in a little and the wet grass was like ice. We just spun in place. It took us about 25 minutes to work the truck out onto the gravel road. Two campers on either side of us came over to help push. Gay kept digging out behind the wheels so we could inch the truck back.

We were supposed to meet Katherine & Bro at 9:30am in Paddock and car pool to the museum. We were only 5 minutes late after all our problems, good thing we had decided to leave early!

We had a nice visit with them on the way there and our first stop was right next door to the Civil Was Museum. It was all about the Wooly Mammoth and lots of fossils and old artifacts. It was all very interesting.

We did lunch at the Boat Dock restaurant and then began our tour of the Civil War Museum. The Fiery Trail tells the personal stories of the men and women of the Upper Middle West-specifically Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa Minnesota, Indiana and Michigan. You travel back in history from the homefront, to the railroad and waterways, to the battlefront and back home again. The Civil War is seen through the eyes of soldiers, nurses, spouses, children, clergymen, slaves, tradesman and others that lived it. They have life size figures that began talking about their experiences as you walk up to them. There are lots of news articles to read and we only had so much time to go through it so will have to come back one day to redo it more extensively. It was so well done and we recommend it to everyone.

We were back to the 5th wheel by 4pm and started doing a few things to get things ready to move out tomorrow morning before heading over to Camp Bow Wow. Kari and Jason had a very busy day today at Camp. There were 32 dogs! When they closed up for the night we headed over to Vicky’s for supper.

We said our goodbyes and hopefully they will be able to get away this winter to spend a few days in Florida to relax.

This morning I worked on getting the new power converter installed in the 5th wheel. We now have bright lights. We went to Camp Bow Wow this morning and then out to get pumpkins, hay bales, corn stocks, Indian corn, and gourds to decorate Camp Bow Wow for Halloween. This afternoon we took Kari’s car to the dealer to get the oil changed and stopped on the way back to do some shopping. After we closed up Camp Bow Wow at 7:00 pm Kari & Jason, Cheri and I went to Applebee’s for supper. It started to rain this afternoon and as of 10:00 pm it is still raining.

Happy birthday Kari!! I took out the power converter from the 5th wheel this morning and it was bad. I put the trickle charger on the house batteries to keep power going for the refrigerator so it would work. We left the 5th wheel this morning and headed for Kari and Jason’s place. Cheri baked a birthday cake for Kari. She also made lasagna and garlic Texas toast for supper, along with a bottle of wine. I mowed the lawn and did the trimming with the weed eater. I did some internet searching for a new power converter and found that Camping World had them. The best part is that Camping World is only seven miles from Kari and Jason’s place. So I went and picked it up. It was 7:30 pm when Jason and Kari got home for supper. It was 10:30 pm when we got back to the 5th wheel.

Cheri was tired from her painting yesterday. She stayed home while I went to Camp Bow Wow to help Jason strip the parking lot. Will it started to rain so that project was out. I did some odd jobs around the Camp. Kari was having an employee meeting and furnished lunch for them. I came back to the 5th wheel and got Cheri for lunch. After lunch we went to the Volo Auto Museum. They had a lot of old cars that were restored that were for sale. Cheri picked out several that she wanted. I think she had more fun then I did. When we got back to the 5th wheel we were able to watch the last half of the NACAR Race. This evening the lights started to get dim. I think the converter has quit working. I will have to check it out tomorrow when it is day light.

It was a very nice lazy morning. Cheri did do a load of laundry and gave me a badly needed hair cut. I did some work on the computer. We went over to Camp Bow Wow in the afternoon. I took a few pictures that you can check out. Cheri did some decorating for Halloween. When Jason came I helped him change the air filters in the air conditioners. The four of us went out to Nicks for pizza (pizza place) it was some of the best pizza I have ever had. It was 9:30 pm when we got back to the 5th wheel.

For pictures see album: Camp Bow Wow

We left Greg & Jeanene’s place at 9:30 am. Before we left I started the truck I had a brake alarm that wouldn’t stop ringing. So we were going to go to Appleton and have it fixed. Will when we got out of the drive way the alarm quit and everything was OK. So we headed for Volo IL. We stopped in Oshkosh at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and then back on the road. We arrived at Beach Lake Resort in Volo around 1:30 pm. After we got set up and had a late lunch and then we headed over to McHenry to see Kari at her Camp Bow Wow. We got the grand tour. Everything looks really nice. Jason came around 5:00 pm. The air conditioner wasn’t working. So Jason and I checked it out and found the blower belt was broken. We went and got a new belt and had it working again by 7:00 pm. After Kari closed up we went to Chilis for supper. We were back to the 5th wheel by 9:15 pm. We watched a little TV and went to bed.

Wow! It’s hard to believe its Oct already. Greg & Jeanene came over to the 5th wheel with fresh baked pumpkin muffins right out of the oven. So we had coffee and muffins for breakfast. At 10:00 am the four of us left for Hartman State Park. We spent a couple hours hiking around the park. We got to see some color and a lot of geese getting ready to head south. Then Greg took us for a ride around the Chain of Lakes to see some of the big houses on the lake. Some thing we only dream about. We stopped in Waupaca at the DQ and had blizzards. Then it was back out into the country side to see more color. Fall is a pretty time with all of mother natures color. We got home around 3:00 pm. Time for a short nap before Jeanene made supper for us. After supper Greg and Jeanene came over to the 5th wheel to watch TV with us. We called it a night at 10:00 pm.

We left at 7:30 am with Greg & Jeanene to go to Wild Rose for breakfast with some old GWRRA (Gold Wing Rode Rider Association) motorcycle friends. After breakfast we went over to Don & Betty Edwards to do some more visiting. We left their place around 12:00 pm and took a ride around the country side to see the fall color and end up at Les & Judeen Shruck’s (more GWRRA friends) cabin and found them there putting on a new deck to their cabin. We visited for a while and checked out the inside of their cabin, very nice. From there we did some more sites seeing and ended up in New London for supper. After supper we made our way back to Greg & Jeanene’s place. We settled in for a night of TV and then called it a night at 10:00 pm. It was a fun day seeing all the old friends we hadn’t seen in years.

It looked like rain when we got up this morning. I thought we would get wet closing up the 5th wheel, but it waited until we got done before it started to rain. Nikki came over to say goodbye before we left. We won’t see Nikki, Cos and Cece again until next spring. We left Fond du Lac at 10:15 am and arrived at Jeanene & Greg Peterson’s around noon. We got the 5th wheel sat up and Jeanene had lunch ready for us. After a nice visit the rain had stopped so we took a walk down to the lake. When we got back we sat out side for a while as it was very nice. Jeanene made a very nice supper for us. We watched some TV and called it a night.

We had a quite day today. We went to church this morning and then over to Cos and Nikki’s for lunch. It was an afternoon of football for Cas and me. The girls went shopping again. Cos cooked steaks on the gill for supper. We played two games of cribbage which we guys won. We got an e-mail from the wagon master that took us on our caravan to Alaska. He just got done with the last caravan and said the temp in Alaska is now in the 30s and 40s. Sure glade we took the second caravan trip. Tomorrow we move to Waupaca, WI for a few days to see friends. I am not sure but I don’t think we will have internet service while we are there.

We took our time getting around this morning. Cos and Nikki came over at 10:00 am. Cheri and Nikki went shopping (again). Cos helped me put the extension on the pin box of the 5th wheel. I need it to get into some of the tight spaces of campgrounds. After we got that done Cos and I went over to their place and I went back to work on cleaning and detailing Cos’s motorcycle and Cos washed his car. When we got them jobs done we sat down and watched the Wisconsin Badgers get beat. They played a really poor game. Cheri and Nikki got back around 4:30 pm. Later Cos and Nikki took us out for supper. We went to a Mexican restaurant and it was very good. Then we came back to our place to play cribbage which the girls won.

We left the 5th wheel this morning at 10:30 am to go to Beaver Dam. Cheri had a dentist appointment to get her new crown put in. Cheri said everything went well. At 12:15 pm we were on our way back to Fond du Lac. We grabbed some lunch and then headed over to Cos and Nikki’s. I worked on cleaning Cos’s motor cycle as it needed it. I figured as long as I was riding it that I should clean it. Cheri started working on supper. She made stuffed pork chops (stuffed with Italian sausage), garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli in cheese sauce, baked biscuits, and cherry cheese cake for dessert. We also had Cos’s sister and her husband over for supper. We played Cribbage afterward. We got home around 10:30pm.

Cos and Nikki are coming over for supper this evening so Cheri wanted to go grocery shopping the first thing this morning. Cheri put in a big day. When we got back she put a ham in the crock pot for supper. She did laundry, cleaned the refrigerator, vacuumed the trailer, baked an apple pie, and biscuits. I spend most of the day washing the 5th wheel. I also had to clean the drain to the refrigerator. After supper we played a game of cribbage that us guys won. Then we watched Survivor on TV.

We were slow getting around this morning. We did get a little rain this morning, and then it turned out to be a nice day. Late morning we headed for Oshkosh to visit Tom Praxl and his friend Kris. The four of us went out to eat at Golden Corel, the food was ok but not has good has the Golden Corel in Florida. After we eat we went back to Tom’s place to catch up on all the things that has happened in the last year. We got home around 6:30 pm and settled in for an evening of TV.

By 8:15 am Cheri was out the door on her way to Appleton with Nikki to go shopping. I stayed home and worked on getting the truck washed. I had started that job a few days ago and it was time to get back to it. I had a hard time getting the Alaska dirt and grime off. It took a lot of scrubbing. It was 2:30 pm when I got done. I was pooped so didn’t do much of anything else. Cheri called me at 4:00 pm and said they were back from shopping and was at Nikki and Cos’s. We ate supper with Cos, Nikki and Cece. We had Brats on the grill and corn on the cob. After supper we played two games of cribbage and the girls won one and we guys won one. We watched Dancing with the Stars and then went home.

We left for church about 10:30am. We had plans for lunch with Nikki & Cece at noon. We brought the pork barbeque and we had corn on the cob to go with it.

Nikki and I worked on hemming Cece’s pants for school, while Gay watched stockcar racing on TV.

Later in the afternoon Nikki & I played games with Cece. We were all winners. Coz arrived home with pizza for supper and we watched the first half of the packer game before we headed home.

We left early this morning to go over to Nikki and Cos’s. We all went downtown to the Farmers Market. We bought a few things and headed back to Nikki and Cos’s. Nikki fixed pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast Nikki and Cheri worked on shorting some pants for Cece. Cos had to work today so I took his motorcycle out for another 150 mile ride, it was a perfect day for riding. When I got back we headed for Beaver Dam to have Chinese for supper. When we got back Nikki gave us a movie to take home and watch. The movie was The Game Plan, it was very good.

Nikki picked me up at 8am and we headed for Plymouth to take her car in for service. We found out what the problem was and she will have to make another appointment to get it fixed. We headed back to Fond du Lac to shop. We went to Good Will to see if we could come up with a Halloween costume for Cece. We were lucky and found one for her. We then headed for a shop called the Clothes Line before going over to pick up Cece from school.

Gay spent his day riding Coz’s motorcycle. He put on 160 miles. He got to see more of the people he worked with. They were having a picnic and he was invited to join them.

Back at Nikki’s, Cece needed to get ready for her cousin’s birthday party and Gay & I went home to prepare supper for Nikki before she had to leave for her meeting.

Nikki rode with her friend to her meeting and was dropped back off here with Cece. We all had a bowl of ice cream before calling it a night.

I was up early as I had to take Cos & Nikki’s car in the dealer at 7:30 am to have the heated seats fixed, no heat. It turned out that there were heated seat switches but no heating elements in the seats. When they brought the car they were told there were heated seats. Now they are going to take the car back to where they bought it and find out what they are going to do about it. When we went to pick up the car Cheri and I stopped at the Harley dealer and checked out the new Road Kings. They are very nice but out of our budget. From there we made a stop at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. Cheri did some baking, cleaning and laundry today. While she was cleaning the pantry she found the back panel was coming apart, so I took that out and put in some screws to hold it together. Now it’s better then it was when it was new.

Gay called the telephone office this morning and made plans to have lunch with the gals there. We arrived at 11am and ordered out for lunch. We had taco salad from the restaurant. We enjoyed our visit with them.

We stopped at Friesland to check out our old house and stopped into the lumber yard to visit with Bruce Braaksma. From there we went to Brandon to visit friends there. Before heading back to Fond du Lac we stopped into the Brandon Meat Market for beef sticks and brats. We made it back home by 5:00pm. Had leftovers for supper and watch a little TV.

By 10am we were ready to go to the grocery store to pick food for supper tonight. I got the crock pot out to begin preparing our meal and found the removable crock was broken. We headed over to Menards to purchase a new one. We got the Rival Smart Pot. It will automatically go to warn when the time programmed in is reached. We’ll see how we like this one. It was noon before I had the pot roast set to cook.

Gay worked on polishing the front end of the truck this afternoon.

We brought the crock pot meal over to Coz & Nikki’s about 5pm.

After supper we played a game of trouble with Cece and Nikki. Grandpa Gay won, Cece came in second.

We watched the final show of Big Brother with them and then headed for home.

We both were up early this morning. Cheri left with Nikki at 8:30 am to go to Oshkosh shopping for the day. I also left at 8:30 am and headed to Appleton to have the truck serviced. Our daughter Kari is visiting Grandpa and Grandma in Florida and Grandpa is back in the hospital with low blood pressure. Kari called today to let us know Grandpa was a little better today. She also said the Grandpa and Grandma’s air conditioner quit working and will have to have a new one. Also their van air conditioner isn’t working. It is nice that she is there to get those things fixed. We went over to Cos and Nikki’s for supper and three games of cribbage which the girls won two.

We went to church this morning at the Community Church on Hwy 26. We got back to Nikki & Coz’s about noon. We had munchies for dinner and a piece of Nikki’s delicious cherry pie. The guys watched the football games while Nikki and I went shopping. We found some good buys. I got some of my Christmas shopping done for Cece.

Coz had the grill going when we got back from shopping. He had the potatoes on and was ready to put the pork chops on. Everything was so good. We finished the pie off for dessert.

We got home about 9pm. Have to get rested up, tomorrow we have another busy day.

It started raining in the night and continued all day. Because of the rain we stayed in side and read our books. At 11:30 am I took Cheri downtown so she could get a perm. Went back and picked her up at 3:00 pm. Cos and Nikki picked us up at 4:15 pm and took us to Oshkosh at Kodiak Jacks for supper. It was very good. When we got back we stopped at Cos and Nikki’s to play cribbage. We guys won three games. Nikki also made grasshoppers for us, very good. We were home by 8:30 pm. Cheri went to bed around 9:30 pm and I stayed up to watch the Wisconsin Badgers play. Was a late game and didn’t get to bed until 1:00 am.

Cheri and I walked this morning; it has been a long time since we have done a long walk. We need to get back into a routine. Cheri spent the day cleaning and doing laundry. I got a tank of LP and worked on cleaning the truck. It is a big job cleaning all the dirt and grime from Alaska. It started to rain before I got done. I also did a boo boo this afternoon. The coffee scoop broke and I use some surgical glue to put it back together and glued my thumb to the scoop. Cheri got a big kick out of it. I had to use a razor blade to get my thumb from the scoop. This evening we went over to Coz and Nikki’s to play cribbage. The girls won two game and us guys won one.

We were slow getting around this morning. It seems nice to just take our time and not have to be anywhere. I did a bunch of paper work and Cheri made an apple pie for supper. After lunch we went to Beaver Dam for Cheri’s dentist appointment. She has to have a crown put in (my queen with a new crown). I went to Menards (the mans store) while Cheri was at the dentist. It was 4:30 pm when we got home. Cheri made lasagna for supper. Coz and Nikki came over for supper and to watch Big Brother on TV.

This morning we headed for Beaver Dam as we had dentist appointments at 10:00 am and 10:30. It was almost noon before be got done. We gave Bill and Barb Mullen a call to see if they wanted to have lunch with us. So we went out to their place and then back to Beaver Dam for lunch. After lunch we went back to their place and spent the afternoon visiting. It was 5:00 pm before we got back to Fond du Lac. We went over to Cos & Nikki’s for supper. We got home around 8:30 pm.

We were on the road by 9:15 am headed for Fond du Lac and arrived at the Fond du Lac Fair grounds where we will be camped for about two weeks. We are here to visit our daughter Nikki and her family. The closer we got to Fond du Lac, the happier Cheri got. It has been over a year since we have seen them. After we got set up we headed out to order a turn table plate for the micro wave, ours got broke in Alaska. They wanted $45.00 for a new, but found a used one for $10.00. Good deal. We stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things and got a call from Nikki to come to their place for pizza. We got home around 8:30 pm.

This morning we headed for Richland Center in the rain to have lunch with my cousins (Ken & Eileen, Dean & Betty). After lunch we sat down for a game of dominos. Once again the girls beat us guys. We left Richland Center around 5:00 pm and headed back to Boscobel. We stopped and picked up pizza to take over to Burl & Dorothy’s for supper and to watch the Packers play. It was good to see the Packers win.

We went to church with Burl & Dorothy this morning. After the service they came by to pick us up and they took us to Prairie du Chien for dinner.

We drove down to the park along the Mississippi River. We watched the boats and birds in the water. It was very peaceful there.

Dorothy wanted to take us up on the ridge in Gays Mills to the apple orchard. They are famous for the apple donuts as well as apples. We purchased cheese spread, jams and apples. Dorothy bought the donuts and we all got coffee or cider to go with the donuts and headed outside to the picnic tables to pig out! GOOD.

My wild animal card for today contains 8 elk and turkeys with a bunch of little ones.

We got back into Boscobel about 4:30pm. Gay sat down to catch up on his stock car races and I picked up my book to read a bit.

We were on the road by 9:00 am. We were going to leave earlier but it was pretty fogey. We arrived in Boscobel at the Dream Catcher RV Park around 2:00 pm. After we got set up we made a trip across town to see my Aunt and Uncle. At 6:00 pm we went downtown to have Chinese for supper.

We were ready to pull out of the service area at Smith Center by 9am.

It rained off & on all day. My wild game card only had 1 deer on it today!

We phoned a Navy buddy of Gay’s as soon as we pulled into Lincoln, Ne. We were lucky enough to catch him at home. He met us at the 27th Street exit Wal-Mart and we visited for an hour or so.

We hadn’t seen Mac for years. The guys had a great time hashing over old times. We called another Navy buddy in Ohio and the all enjoyed catching up on everything.

We pushed on to Kellogg, Iowa on Hwy I-80 and pulled into a campground for the night. It was 7apm and we traveled 420 miles. It was a long day.

The guys here at the Customer Service Center went right to work on our 5th wheel at 6:30 am. By 8:00 am they had the panel under the bedroom removed and the front cap pulled out. We couldn’t find any thing that may have caused what I thought was a problem. They did do some more reinforcing of the frame around the pin box. Then they installed the new awning. They had us ready to leave at 3:30 pm. We decided to spend the night here to give the caulking a chance to cure before we hit the road. Once again the Service Center did an excellent job. It makes a person feel good that we are a part of the Excel family.

Gay talked to Jack at the Excel factory regarding our 5th wheel. We can get it in to have them look at the hitch again on Thursday. We feel we have more problems with that.

We packed up and headed out of the campground around 10am. Our first stop was in Chadron, Nebraska for lunch around noon.

We traveled on the interstate in order to put as many miles behind us as possible. It was going to be a long day. My wild animal card had lots of entries today. We saw 54 deer grazing in the fields along the interstate. We also saw 6 or 7 turkeys. I didn’t think we would see any wildlife today.

We had a beautiful sunset tonight. Those are the only pictures we took today.

We arrived in Smith Center, KS at 9pm. We got set up and it will be an early morning. We will have to be out of the 5th wheel by 6:30am so they can begin working on it.

For pictures of the day see album: Black Hills to Smith Center 9-3-08

We met Greg & Jeanene at the camp office and were able to get some papers notarized at their cooperate office there. We needed to get that done before we left South Dakota. It all worked out well.
We headed north to Deadwood. We drove down through the main streets and headed just outside of town to the Kevin Costner Educational Center Tatanka. It depicts the relationship between the bison and Native Americans through interactive exhibits.

30 million bison once roamed the Great Plains of North America. By the close of the 19th century it is estimated that fewer than 1,000 of these animals survived.

The centerpiece of Tatanka is the larger-than-life bronze sculpture of 14 bison being pursued by three Lakota riders on horseback. It is a beautifully done exhibit. Well worth the visit.

We took the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway after leaving Deadwood. It was a pretty, winding road with high rock walls. We stopped at Roughlock Falls in Savory. We walked their pathways down to the overlook on the falls.

On down the road we went on up the dirt road that took us to the overlook tower at Terry Peack. It was a great day, we could see for miles up there.

My wild card today consisted of turkeys, deer and a coyote. That makes for a pretty good card!

We went back to Rockerville for supper tonight. Their Tuesday night special was hog wings. We got a variety plate so we could taste all the different kinds—honey barbeque, teriyaki, hot and medium. Everyone tried them all except for me. I just had honey barbeque. They were the BEST.

For pictures of the day see album: Black Hills 9-2-08

Greg & Jeanene picked us up at 8:15am. We headed for Sylvan Lake and hiked the trail all around the lake. It is so quiet and peaceful there. Not too hot, not too cold, just a perfect day for hiking.

We drove through Custer State Park. It is the second-largest state park in the United States. We visited the rock formation called the Needles. The rock has an eye in it like a needle. There are also 2 one way tunnels through the rocks. You have to blow your horn to announce you’re going through.

We took the wildlife loop road that winds through the buffalo range. Nearly 1,600 buffalo, one of the largest herds anywhere, roam free in the foothills of this 71,000 acre park. The buffalo herd is an impressive sight. The bulls can weigh up to 1,000 lbs. We came across 3 different herds. One buffalo was lying right in the road. We just drove on around him. There were plenty of babies in the herd. They all grazed right along the road.

We also saw some whitetail deer and lots and lots of pronghorn antelope.

The fields were full of prairie dog homes. They were racing around like crazy from one hole to another.

We exited the park at the south end and entered into Wind Cave National Park. There at Rankin Ridge we hiked up to the fire lookout at the top of the ridge. After all that we were starting to get hungry so we found a picnic area and set about making our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was nice just to sit and relax.

We wandered back into Custer State Park and once again took the wildlife loop road. There were more buffalo, antelope, deer and this time we found the wild burros. They were right there on the road begging for food. While one of them blocked traffic, his buddies would go car to car looking for a handout. There were lots of little ones in this herd. Their coloring sure was different.

We would our way back to the 5th wheel and I fixed hamburgers and grilling beans for us all. Everyone was real tired from all our travels today.

For pictures of the day see album: Black Hills 9-1-08

We moved sort of slow this morning. We are both tired. We were ready by 10am to go to the Picnic pavilion here in the park to hear Gospel singer Keenie Word. She put on a nice show.

Greg & Jeanene Peterson called about 11am and they had stopped for groceries and would be arriving soon. They are staying at a cabin here in the park. We visited with them all afternoon and then decided to go out to eat at Rockerville. It was a neat place, with displays of old cars. The food was great.

We had decided to go over to Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills. Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski , began blasting the mountain to create the Crazy Horse Monument in 1948. He worked on it until he died and then his children took over the project. It has a long way to go before completion. It is the world’s largest carving in progress. They have a beautiful museum there with thousands of rare artifacts and beautiful works of art. We stayed the laser-light show on the mountain surrounding the Crazy Horse carving. It was really neat.

We drove back around by Mt. Rushmore and we got to see the faces all lit up. We have been there 3 or 4 different times throughout the years.

Greg and Jeanene dropped us off at the 5th wheel. Time to call it a night.

For pictures of the day see album: Crazy Horse 8-31-08

It was a 9:45 departure this morning. The temperature was already up to 71 degrees.

We’re traveling on Hwy 212 and we go by a sign that says NO SHOOTING PRAIRIE DOG STUDY. On both sides of the road, you could see the prairie dog villages. We saw a number of them up on their hind legs looking the area over.

We also saw lots of antelope and a few deer grazing in the pastures along the highway, along with the cattle and sheep.

We stopped in Spearfish at Wal-Mart for groceries before heading to Rapid City. We pulled into our campground, Rushmore Shadows in Rapid City around 6pm. It was a long day and we were tired. The temperature did top out at 103 degrees.

For pictures of the day see album: Hardin to Rapid City 8-30-08

Today was a pound the pavement day. We traveled most of the day on the interstate. We did see a big bunch of antelope out in a field. We passed lots of fields of golden wheat, most of which was already harvested or just about ready to be. There was mile after mile of nothing but rolling bluffs.

Our destination was Billings, Mt. but we went on the Hardin, another 57 miles and pulled into Grandview Camp & R.V. Park about 5pm.

We are running the air conditioner for the first time since April. At 7:30pm they had ice cream in the game room so we went over and joined 3 other couples for that evening snack.

For pictures of the day see album: Helena to Hardin 8-29-08

We woke to the wind rocking the 5th wheel. We were in for another day of high winds. We pulled out by the campground office to get internet service and send e-mails.

Hwy 89 is a very curvy and Montana has an open range policy. You go around a corner and there will be 8 or 10 cows standing along the road. They started running and luckily didn’t run out in front of us. They were all along the highway.

Gay was checking out the rear view mirror and saw that our awning had blown off and was dragging on the highway. It had come apart at the top and the wind caught it and that’s all it took to rip it right off. We stopped and he took the remainder of it off. It was one more things to add to the problem list.

The roads were pretty good today and traffic was very light. We spotted a bunch of deer---a buck, doe and fawns. We didn’t see them quick enough for pictures.

We stopped for lunch just before we turned on Hwy 287. Now we are encircled on three sides by mountains.

We saw a group of antelope and more deer.

We pulled into our campground in Helena, Mt. about 3pm. We didn’t even get set up and our neighbors across the street came over to see our truck and 5th wheel. They have a big truck too, so we went to check their truck and 5th wheel out. We sat down and had a few drinks with them. It was nice trading stories.

About 5:30pm we headed out Hwy we looking for Frontier Town. We were there 22 years ago and wanted to check it out again. It was real neat---it had saddles for bar stools. We finally found it and it was all closed up. So sad—it was really a neat place. We turned around and headed back to town and stopped at Applebee’s for supper.

For pictures of the day see album: St Mary to Helena 8-28-08

We were ready by 10:30am to go and check to see if our mail was in. When we drove in there were no cars at the post office. We found this little office was open only from 12:00 to 5pm. We’ll have to come back.

We headed on up to Many Glacier to check it out. We entered an entrance of Glacier National Park. We were able to use our lifetime pass to get verses paying the daily fee. We had thought about doing the Going to the Sun Road in the park but found out from the attendant it was 28 degrees up at the top of the mountain and they had accumulating slush of up to 6 inches so they closed the roads.

It was raining and very foggy so we could hardly see the tops of the mountains or get a glimpse of the glacier.

We turned around and headed back out of the park and Gay spotted 2 mountain goats up on the rocks about half way up the mountain. We could watch them with the binoculars and wondered just how they got where they were.
We headed back to the post office and luckily our mail was in so now we will be on our way for sure tomorrow.

This afternoon when we got back I gave Gay a hair cut.

No pictures today as there was to much rain and fog.