Griff’s RV Park, Altoona, IA

It has been awhile since I last posted so I have a bit of catching up to do.

We had a great time in WI, I was able to watch Mason play baseball, he reminds me a lot of Robert at that age. Mason is doing good for a seven year old, he is still learning the basics. He went to a baseball camp put on by the Snappers, a minor league team playing in Beloit, it was fun to watch Mason and see how his level of play compares to others. I think he is a bit above average, especially in hitting, he will get the rest as time goes on. Then there is Madyson, she amazed me at her dance/gymnastics class. She is an enthusiastic dancer and I believe someday she will rival her aunt Catherine in dancing. In gymnastics I was amazed at the things she does, she does things I would never have tried and she is good. The kids came out to the campground one night so we could build a fire and have S’mores, I am not much for campfires but we had a great time that night. Mason made me a S’more and it was delicious.It was great to see her and Mason and of course their mom and dad.

On the 9th we headed for Coralville lake and the CORE park there. Now I am somewhat of an optimist, I guess you have to be to live this lifestyle, so we left WI with a half tank of fresh water because I thought we would be able to get into one of the FHU walk in sites at the park. Well, I was wrong and actually I am glad I was wrong because I didn’t like the area the FHU sites were located. So we parked in the West Overlook site 67, we were backed up to the lake and had a great view.

We came to Coralville because Carl & Merilee live in North Liberty, five miles down the road, and Sarah’s brother, sister, nephews and nieces were all going to be at Carl & Merilee’s over the weekend, Aug 11th. We had a great time. As I stated before I didn’t fill the fresh water tank and so I was worried we wouldn’t have enough water on board but it worked out well, I didn’t shower for eight days. That isn’t true, it was seven days. Actually, we showered at the house and in fact we stayed Monday night at Carl & Merilee’s, so as it turned out we had plenty of water in the camper. Monday we went and saw the Bourne Legacy, good movie, I ordered the original three and I will get the Legacy when the price comes down on it. Merilee made t-shirts with CAIN 2012 on them for everyone. We are going to try to get together the first weekend in August each year.

Like in years past when we would all get together at Carl & Merilee’s in Galesburg, we ate too much. Merilee is a great cook, she didn’t cook as much this time but what she did make was great. I gained at least five pounds. We had a great time and thank Carl & Merilee for their hospitality.

Wednesday saw us hooking up and heading south fifty miles to Crossroads RV Park, Mt. Pleasant, IA to see friends Dave & Shari Frantz. They had been at Amana Campground, Amana, IA but things didn’t work out there so they were able to get on at Crossroads, they hosted there in years past.

Thursday I went with Dave on a road trip to Cedar Rapids so he could take care of a few things, Sarah stayed at the camper and beaded. She is finally making some bracelets she can sell, so we will see how that goes.

Friday morning Sarah and I left on the cemetery tour. Both of our parents are buried in the area plus Sarah’s sister and my daughter, so we headed out to visit the grave sites and put some flowers on them. On our way from one cemetery to another in Burlington we went by Mark and Beth Steingraber’s house, actually I took a chance on finding it and knew I did when I saw their camper in the driveway. They have a very nice home. It is a townhouse with three bedrooms and two car garage, big kitchen and living room, very nice home. We told them we were at Crossroads and they know Dave & Shari so Beth was going to call and invite themselves out for dinner, we were cooking hamburgers at Dave & Shari’s. So that evening we had a great time. I addition to Mark & Beth, Ron & Vi Powell came out with Mark & Beth. Sarah and I had never met them before, they are a delightful couple, they own the Collision Center in Burlington. We had a great time and the libations flowed freely. L to R, Shari Frantz, Mark Steingraber, Beth Steingraber, Ron Powell, Vi Powell, Dave Frantz and Moe, Sarah and me.

Saturday found us on the road again meandering our way to Griff’s RV Park, Altoona, IA. We love this park it is quiet and sits out in the country so if you don’t know where to look you wouldn’t find it, http://griffieon.home.mchsi.com/. We are in site E8, never been in this circle before but I like it. This park is full most of the summer, you need to get reservations sometimes you may get lucky and there will be available sites. We have seen and visited with friends, John & Kathy and Dick & Judi, others are here but we haven’t seen them yet. I am a bit concerned though we have had the units on both sides of us leave, I wonder if it is because the camper is dirty. I will have to get that taken care of sometime next week.

Yesterday we went to Matt, Tiffany, Bryon and Alexa’s house so we could go with Alexa to her second grade open house. She is in a small class, nineteen, but I still don’t envy her teacher. Alexa’s desk is in the first row, so she will have to pay attention, I always preferred the last row of desks, out of sight out of mind. The we went to eat at Hickory Park restaurant, http://www.hickoryparkames.com/, we ate there before and it is a very good place to eat. The service was okay, the kitchen forgot Bryon’s meal but he did get it. Then it was off to Wal-Mart because Alexa needed some shoes for school. We got all of that taken care of and headed back home.

Sarah has been bothered with some eye pain and so she made an appointment with an ophthalmologist for this morning. All is good news, she has some eye floaters, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floater, I believe most middle age and older people have them, but Sarah also has a fold in the vitreous of the eye, http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-center/posterior-vitreous-detachment-info.aspx. The doctor told her she had nothing to be of concerned with right now, so all is well with her.

Tonight we are meeting long time friends Norma & Orren for dinner at Prairie Meadows Racetrack for dinner, they have great prime rib there. While waiting for our friends I went into the casino and sat down at a penny slot. Most of these machines don’t make sense to me so I just put money in and push a button. I did manage to play for about twenty minutes and left with $5.50. We spent almost three hours visiting with Orren & Norma, we had a great time.

Today I finally got my battery project done and cleaned the truck. Life is good.

Till later – Dreams Do Come True