Well day two of retirement and I can't imagine it getting any better than this. I find myself relaxing more and not worrying about anything. I finished another book today and will probably get another one done in a day or two, not that I am neglecting anything else, or Sarah, but I find myself enjoying it more and I am not in a "hurry" to finish it.
I am now the official Chauffeur of Sarah Jane, who would have thought such a thing could happen. I am happy to report her foot is healing and the surgeon said she should wear the boot and push gradual pressure on it. So we are thankful for that piece of good news.
Yesterday was spent going to doctors, today to relaxing. I received the hard drive I ordered to load all of the pictures I have onto it. I also got that job done, all pictures are loaded for them and they can do what they want with them.
Nothing else is going on today, just enjoying the time we have together.
Dreams Do Come True
Our Home
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Retirement Is Here
Friday was the day, I officially retired. It is a great feeling somewhat weird, I was thinking on Friday how I was going to get Sarah to the two doctor appointments she has tomorrow, then it hit me I will be retired I don’t have to figure out how I am going to do it, I will just be able to do it. So tomorrow I get to be a chauffeur and I will love it.
I won’t miss going to work; I will miss the people, not working. Marsh is a good place to work, all in all I am glad to have had the opportunity to be a member of the Marsh family. With that said, I am totally glad I am retired. I have worked a long time and I am looking forward to not having to get up in the morning and having to go to work.
This week I will go through my clothes and start bagging up the clothes I don’t want any longer and take them to an organization where they will be put to good use.
My biggest job right now is trying to keep Sarah off her left foot, she uses crutches but I have to watch her because she keeps looking around while using the crutches and I am afraid she will stumble over something. Hopefully tomorrow we will know what she will have to do or have done so she can get healed up.
Nothing planned for the rest of the week, so we will have to see what comes along. For now though, WE ARE RETIRED.
Dreams Do Come True.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Changes In Our Plans
It finally stopped raining last wee about Thursday and cleared up so we had a great weekend. The weekend was made even better by the fact it was Emily’s fourth birthday and we had to be there for it. We had a great time being there and watching Emily ride her new bicycle, she does pretty well with it. It was fun to watch her open her gifts and see the expression on her face when it was clothes and not toys, I believe we all did that at one time or other in our lives. Our great nephew Rusty went with us and he brought some sidewalk chalk with him so he showed the girls how to draw pictures in the driveway. All in all it was a great time.
Sunday was a beautiful day, light winds, sunshine, blue skies; it was the perfect summer day. Orren and Norma Cairo, friends of mine for forty years, came out and we grilled and had a great visit. It was the first time they had seen the camper and they thought it was nice. We sat outside most of the time except when we ate; we did that inside the camper, but with the breeze and the awning being down it was very comfortable.
Monday I had my annual physical at the VA and all went pretty well. Some numbers were up by a point or two but nothing to worry about according to the doctor, except for my blood pressure, it is up a bit so I have a blood pressure monitor so I can take my own blood pressure a couple times per week. I believe it to be up due to my retiring and all the other things going on now. Anyway, I will monitor it and if it continues to rise or goes off the chart I will call the doctor and get something for it.
Yesterday it was back to work we had five tours scheduled but only had to give three, they combined three into one when not everyone showed up for it. Then about 1:30 Sarah calls me and tells me she fell at work and that her foot was hurting and she was going to the doctor to have it checked. Luckily it was her left foot because she had the car and could drive herself to the doctor. She was able to get in and they took an x-ray and found she had broken a bone on outside of the side of her left foot. The doctor gave her a prescription for a boot so she came and picked me up and we went to get it. The foot was swelling, which was to be expected, so we iced it all night and she kept it elevated. Now she has to she the company doctor to see what they advise. Sarah’s doctor said it could heal on it’s own in about 8 wks or with surgery 6wks. We’ll see what gives, I believe we should go a couple of weeks and she how it is doing and then decide if it will require surgery.
So today I had to make some adjustments to our plans. I hope we can stay where we are now without moving for another month or so, if we can’t I am not sure what we will do because we have the holiday weekend coming up. I canceled the KOA reservations in Omaha , but I will still take the camper to the factory on the 1st but instead of staying the night in Omaha I will drive straight through to Smith Center Wisconsin
Dreams Do Come True - but sometimes not the way we totally want them to be.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
To Much Water
What a week we have had. Rain on Sunday, rain on Monday, rain on Tuesday and they are forecasting more rain on Friday. We have spent two of the last three nights in the clubhouse because of damaging winds being forecasted. Sunday night we received five inches of rain in the campground according to a neighbor’s rain gauge. It is hot, mid 90’s, during the day with high humidity making the heat index in the triple digits.
Last night we headed for the clubhouse about 10:15 pm and stayed until about midnight. We went back to the camper and the minute we got inside the weather radio went off with another severe thunderstorm warning I told Sarah I am staying and I went to bed. About one o’clock I still was asleep and the camper was a rocking quite a bit, I don’t believe we had 60 mph winds, so I got up and brought up the weather channel on the computer and according to it the storms would pass us by one thirty, so I went back to bed and woke up at 5:40 am.
Another night of little sleep, I suppose when we retire the storms won’t be any less intrusive but at least we will be able to take a nap.
Time for bed - Dreams Do Come True
Sunday, August 8, 2010
HOT and more HOT
Friday, August 6, 2010
This past week has been interesting; actually it all began last Friday when I took a sick day to go to see the doctor at the VA. I went into the emergency room, sort of like sick call, and they did the vitals and preliminary workup and sent me over to the clinic to see my doctor. I knew I might not get to see the doctor but I wanted to try anyway. I have had a pain in the middle of my back and also in my shoulder, neck and arm. I can’t raise my arm very far without a lot of pain and certain movements give me excruciating pain.
As it turns out, my doctor didn’t have time to see me but I got an appointment for Tuesday. I had gotten up Friday with a sore throat also. By Monday my throat was sore enough I decided I was going to stay home, so I called in sick. I had 64 hours of sick time left for the year so I figured I might as well use some of it. I plan on getting as much of my doctor visits done before I retire.
Tuesday Sarah had her physical scheduled so she dropped me at the VA and she went to her appointment. I saw the doctor, had an x-ray on my shoulder and got some medicines. Then Sarah picked me up and we went to our appointment to make applications for health insurance for Sarah and Medicare Supplement for me. With that done we got something to eat, Hy-Vee was grilling hamburgers and so we bought a couple and sat at a picnic table, in the shade because it was hot out, the burgers were very good. After we ate we went to Sarah’s next appointment to get a mammogram. After that was finished we went home.
Of course three fourths of the way home I remembered the books I had in the trunk for my brother Jerry, I still have them. I will try to get hold of him tomorrow.
Yesterday the doctor calls and says I have arthritis in the shoulder and a bad rotator cup. So I have asked to see an orthopedic doctor to see what my options are. I don’t know if surgery would be called for but if so I want to wait until next spring after we would get back from down South. I’ll just have to wait and see what the doctor can tell me.
Sunday August 8, 2010
It is hot today, 95 and a bit humid, I was sitting outside and, I like the heat or use to, and it became unbearable. So I thought I would come in and finish my entry.
Yesterday was a nice day; we got quite a bit done. We drove over to Cynthia’s to pick up some mail she had for us. We have put her address down on our medical insurance applications; we did this so we could stay Iowa residents for the time being.
Then we drove out to the West Des Moines KOA to visit with the owners, Dave and Patricia Kimmel. Sandy, one of the workampers, was in the office I asked for Dave and she said he was in the house. So we visited, she and a friend have a Jayco and this is her first workamping experience. She was a lot of fun to talk with, she offered to call Dave but I didn’t want to disturb him, I thought I would leave one of our cards and contact him later. I know what it is like owning a business your day never ends. We were getting ready to leave and Dave came in so we spent some time talking with him. A couple of times in the past when we camped there he said to call him if we wanted to workamp for him. So I reminded him of that and said if he had an opening next year we would like to discuss it with him. He didn’t know if he would have but he has our card and I will get with him in January to see if anything has opened up.
We drove back to Des Moines and went to Sam’s Club so Sarah could get her prescription filled and I found a table I wanted for the camper. It is a four footer that folds into two feet square and has three adjustable heights. I believe it will work out great for us.
Then we drove up to Nevada to see Tiffany and Alexa, Matt was working. I had State Fair tickets I wanted to give her, they missed out on Adventureland and Tiffany said they hadn’t been to the Fair for quite a while so I thought I would get them tickets for it and some cash to cover food etc.
Since I was hungry we went to McDonalds and had a late lunch. I haven’t been feeling all that great so we didn’t stay long and was home by three, I took a nap and felt a bit better after it. We went to church at 5:30 and then to Hy-Vee, they had the buffet for $4.99, I ate too much.
Today we had a goal of cleaning the camper; I had noticed a buildup of dirt on the filters for the return air of the air conditioner and on the bathroom vent. So I started with the bathroom vent. It took me a few minutes to figure out how the cover comes off, you pull it down and it has two pieces of spring like wire you squeeze together and off it comes. It was filthy so I cleaned it up. I started cleaning the rest of the fan housing and decided I needed to unplug the electrical plug, it is one of those plugs you will see on radios and other electronic equipment, I should have taken pictures but I was in no mood. After unplugging the wires I discovered I couldn’t get them reconnected the receptacle kept retreating into the plastic housing and there was no way to get a finger in to hold it in place while pushing the male end into the female end. So I had the bright idea of unscrewing the housing from the ceiling to see if there was a way to get to the wires from above. I began unscrewing the housing and the screws came out but the housing stayed up there, so I became more and more frustrated until this piece of plastic fell out. Then I looked at it closer and figured out what was holding the housing in the ceiling. It seems the pieces of plastic have the screw in them and they are held against the housing until the screw is tightened then they turn 90 degrees and as you tighten the screw this plastic piece pulls the housing tighter against the ceiling. I was finally able to get the plug reattached and the housing back up and the cover on everything after about an hour and a half. Needless to say the cover is the only thing that will get a good cleaning in the future.
We have Skype but have never used it until today. Robert called and said get on line so we did and we were able to watch Mason and Madyson play. It was so cool. We will have to get Daniel up and running on that.
I tried to sit outside with Sarah but it was too hot, I did make it for a half hour and then I had to come inside. Here are a couple pictures of the camper and Sarah.Friday, August 6, 2010
This past week has been interesting; actually it all began last Friday when I took a sick day to go to see the doctor at the VA. I went into the emergency room, sort of like sick call, and they did the vitals and preliminary workup and sent me over to the clinic to see my doctor. I knew I might not get to see the doctor but I wanted to try anyway. I have had a pain in the middle of my back and also in my shoulder, neck and arm. I can’t raise my arm very far without a lot of pain and certain movements give me excruciating pain.
As it turns out, my doctor didn’t have time to see me but I got an appointment for Tuesday. I had gotten up Friday with a sore throat also. By Monday my throat was sore enough I decided I was going to stay home, so I called in sick. I had 64 hours of sick time left for the year so I figured I might as well use some of it. I plan on getting as much of my doctor visits done before I retire.
Tuesday Sarah had her physical scheduled so she dropped me at the VA and she went to her appointment. I saw the doctor, had an x-ray on my shoulder and got some medicines. Then Sarah picked me up and we went to our appointment to make applications for health insurance for Sarah and Medicare Supplement for me. With that done we got something to eat, Hy-Vee was grilling hamburgers and so we bought a couple and sat at a picnic table, in the shade because it was hot out, the burgers were very good. After we ate we went to Sarah’s next appointment to get a mammogram. After that was finished we went home.
Of course three fourths of the way home I remembered the books I had in the trunk for my brother Jerry, I still have them. I will try to get hold of him tomorrow.
Yesterday the doctor calls and says I have arthritis in the shoulder and a bad rotator cup. So I have asked to see an orthopedic doctor to see what my options are. I don’t know if surgery would be called for but if so I want to wait until next spring after we would get back from down South. I’ll just have to wait and see what the doctor can tell me.
Sunday August 8, 2010
It is hot today, 95 and a bit humid, I was sitting outside and, I like the heat or use to, and it became unbearable. So I thought I would come in and finish my entry.
Yesterday was a nice day; we got quite a bit done. We drove over to Cynthia’s to pick up some mail she had for us. We have put her address down on our medical insurance applications; we did this so we could stay Iowa residents for the time being.
Then we drove out to the West Des Moines KOA to visit with the owners, Dave and Patricia Kimmel. Sandy, one of the workampers, was in the office I asked for Dave and she said he was in the house. So we visited, she and a friend have a Jayco and this is her first workamping experience. She was a lot of fun to talk with, she offered to call Dave but I didn’t want to disturb him, I thought I would leave one of our cards and contact him later. I know what it is like owning a business your day never ends. We were getting ready to leave and Dave came in so we spent some time talking with him. A couple of times in the past when we camped there he said to call him if we wanted to workamp for him. So I reminded him of that and said if he had an opening next year we would like to discuss it with him. He didn’t know if he would have but he has our card and I will get with him in January to see if anything has opened up.
We drove back to Des Moines and went to Sam’s Club so Sarah could get her prescription filled and I found a table I wanted for the camper. It is a four footer that folds into two feet square and has three adjustable heights. I believe it will work out great for us.
Then we drove up to Nevada to see Tiffany and Alexa, Matt was working. I had State Fair tickets I wanted to give her, they missed out on Adventureland and Tiffany said they hadn’t been to the Fair for quite a while so I thought I would get them tickets for it and some cash to cover food etc.
Since I was hungry we went to McDonalds and had a late lunch. I haven’t been feeling all that great so we didn’t stay long and was home by three, I took a nap and felt a bit better after it. We went to church at 5:30 and then to Hy-Vee, they had the buffet for $4.99, I ate too much.
Today we had a goal of cleaning the camper; I had noticed a buildup of dirt on the filters for the return air of the air conditioner and on the bathroom vent. So I started with the bathroom vent. It took me a few minutes to figure out how the cover comes off, you pull it down and it has two pieces of spring like wire you squeeze together and off it comes. It was filthy so I cleaned it up. I started cleaning the rest of the fan housing and decided I needed to unplug the electrical plug, it is one of those plugs you will see on radios and other electronic equipment, I should have taken pictures but I was in no mood. After unplugging the wires I discovered I couldn’t get them reconnected the receptacle kept retreating into the plastic housing and there was no way to get a finger in to hold it in place while pushing the male end into the female end. So I had the bright idea of unscrewing the housing from the ceiling to see if there was a way to get to the wires from above. I began unscrewing the housing and the screws came out but the housing stayed up there, so I became more and more frustrated until this piece of plastic fell out. Then I looked at it closer and figured out what was holding the housing in the ceiling. It seems the pieces of plastic have the screw in them and they are held against the housing until the screw is tightened then they turn 90 degrees and as you tighten the screw this plastic piece pulls the housing tighter against the ceiling. I was finally able to get the plug reattached and the housing back up and the cover on everything after about an hour and a half. Needless to say the cover is the only thing that will get a good cleaning in the future.
We have Skype but have never used it until today. Robert called and said get on line so we did and we were able to watch Mason and Madyson play. It was so cool. We will have to get Daniel up and running on that.
I tried to sit outside with Sarah but it was too hot, I did make it for a half hour and then I had to come inside. Here are a couple pictures of the camper and Sarah.Friday, August 6, 2010
This past week has been interesting; actually it all began last Friday when I took a sick day to go to see the doctor at the VA. I went into the emergency room, sort of like sick call, and they did the vitals and preliminary workup and sent me over to the clinic to see my doctor. I knew I might not get to see the doctor but I wanted to try anyway. I have had a pain in the middle of my back and also in my shoulder, neck and arm. I can’t raise my arm very far without a lot of pain and certain movements give me excruciating pain.
As it turns out, my doctor didn’t have time to see me but I got an appointment for Tuesday. I had gotten up Friday with a sore throat also. By Monday my throat was sore enough I decided I was going to stay home, so I called in sick. I had 64 hours of sick time left for the year so I figured I might as well use some of it. I plan on getting as much of my doctor visits done before I retire.
Tuesday Sarah had her physical scheduled so she dropped me at the VA and she went to her appointment. I saw the doctor, had an x-ray on my shoulder and got some medicines. Then Sarah picked me up and we went to our appointment to make applications for health insurance for Sarah and Medicare Supplement for me. With that done we got something to eat, Hy-Vee was grilling hamburgers and so we bought a couple and sat at a picnic table, in the shade because it was hot out, the burgers were very good. After we ate we went to Sarah’s next appointment to get a mammogram. After that was finished we went home.
Of course three fourths of the way home I remembered the books I had in the trunk for my brother Jerry, I still have them. I will try to get hold of him tomorrow.
Yesterday the doctor calls and says I have arthritis in the shoulder and a bad rotator cup. So I have asked to see an orthopedic doctor to see what my options are. I don’t know if surgery would be called for but if so I want to wait until next spring after we would get back from down South. I’ll just have to wait and see what the doctor can tell me.
Sunday August 8, 2010
It is hot today, 95 and a bit humid, I was sitting outside and, I like the heat or use to, and it became unbearable. So I thought I would come in and finish my entry.
Yesterday was a nice day; we got quite a bit done. We drove over to Cynthia’s to pick up some mail she had for us. We have put her address down on our medical insurance applications; we did this so we could stay Iowa residents for the time being.
Then we drove out to the West Des Moines KOA to visit with the owners, Dave and Patricia Kimmel. Sandy, one of the workampers, was in the office I asked for Dave and she said he was in the house. So we visited, she and a friend have a Jayco and this is her first workamping experience. She was a lot of fun to talk with, she offered to call Dave but I didn’t want to disturb him, I thought I would leave one of our cards and contact him later. I know what it is like owning a business your day never ends. We were getting ready to leave and Dave came in so we spent some time talking with him. A couple of times in the past when we camped there he said to call him if we wanted to workamp for him. So I reminded him of that and said if he had an opening next year we would like to discuss it with him. He didn’t know if he would have but he has our card and I will get with him in January to see if anything has opened up.
We drove back to Des Moines and went to Sam’s Club so Sarah could get her prescription filled and I found a table I wanted for the camper. It is a four footer that folds into two feet square and has three adjustable heights. I believe it will work out great for us.
Then we drove up to Nevada to see Tiffany and Alexa, Matt was working. I had State Fair tickets I wanted to give her, they missed out on Adventureland and Tiffany said they hadn’t been to the Fair for quite a while so I thought I would get them tickets for it and some cash to cover food etc.
Since I was hungry we went to McDonalds and had a late lunch. I haven’t been feeling all that great so we didn’t stay long and was home by three, I took a nap and felt a bit better after it. We went to church at 5:30 and then to Hy-Vee, they had the buffet for $4.99, I ate too much.
Today we had a goal of cleaning the camper; I had noticed a buildup of dirt on the filters for the return air of the air conditioner and on the bathroom vent. So I started with the bathroom vent. It took me a few minutes to figure out how the cover comes off, you pull it down and it has two pieces of spring like wire you squeeze together and off it comes. It was filthy so I cleaned it up. I started cleaning the rest of the fan housing and decided I needed to unplug the electrical plug, it is one of those plugs you will see on radios and other electronic equipment, I should have taken pictures but I was in no mood. After unplugging the wires I discovered I couldn’t get them reconnected the receptacle kept retreating into the plastic housing and there was no way to get a finger in to hold it in place while pushing the male end into the female end. So I had the bright idea of unscrewing the housing from the ceiling to see if there was a way to get to the wires from above. I began unscrewing the housing and the screws came out but the housing stayed up there, so I became more and more frustrated until this piece of plastic fell out. Then I looked at it closer and figured out what was holding the housing in the ceiling. It seems the pieces of plastic have the screw in them and they are held against the housing until the screw is tightened then they turn 90 degrees and as you tighten the screw this plastic piece pulls the housing tighter against the ceiling. I was finally able to get the plug reattached and the housing back up and the cover on everything after about an hour and a half. Needless to say the cover is the only thing that will get a good cleaning in the future.
We have Skype but have never used it until today. Robert called and said get on line so we did and we were able to watch Mason and Madyson play. It was so cool. We will have to get Daniel up and running on that.
I tried to sit outside with Sarah but it was too hot, I did make it for a half hour and then I had to come inside. Here are a couple pictures of the camper and Sarah.
A side shot of camper with Sarah sitting in her chair reading.
This is a good shot of the front of the camper with my flag blowing in the breeze. Our neighbor Dick gave the flag to me for my retirement.
Here she is the Mrs. of our castle. She didn't like the other picture I took but ok'd this one.
Well, that about does it for today. We'll see what lies ahead in the week to come because,
Dreams Do Come True
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Another week down - Five to go
This past week was the same as all the others, we had no tours at work, we came home walked when we could, that is when it wasn't raining. We have had so much rain the lakes and rivers are out of their banks and making life miserable for a lot of people. In fact the rain prevented us from going to visit my mother in Centerville, she called and said they had closed roads so we decided to delay or visit by a week. Lake Rathbun has doubled in size and has flooded a lot of the area. So we will go visit next week.
Since we didn't go to Centerville we decided to get some things done around here. We had to go to the bank because on the form I had them fill out to have my pension direct deposited they put the wrong routing number on the form. As we were getting ready to go we received a call from Carl & Merilee, they wanted to come over. Actually, as Carl put it they were going out to breakfast or come see us. They came over to see us.
We had an hour so we went to the bank and Menard's before they got here. I am looking into buying a ladder, one that makes into a step ladder and an extension ladder, I have a space of four feet I can store one in the back of the truck. I didn't find what I wanted at Menard's so I will look at Lowe's and Home Depot this week.
Carl & Merilee arrived a little after eleven, they had not seen our camper yet so we showed them around, took about three minutes. Since everyone was hungry we went out to eat, we had been there once before, it was good food and service. It was a bit noisy but we enjoyed ourselves. After lunch we stopped at Shorewood RV in Ankeny to look at the motorhomes they had on the lot. There was a Tiffin 40' motorhome that I thought was great, nice floor plan, interior and paint job on the outside. We had to get gas so I stopped at Hy-Vee to get my three cent discount, I had to buy a paper to get the discount, the paper cost fifty cents and my discount was forty three cents. I guess I didn't need to buy the paper. Then we went to the local DQ and had a blizzard, it wss great. It didn't do my diet any good but it seems most of what I am eating lately isn't good for my diet.
We returned home and Cynthia, Sarah's sister, came out to see Carl & Merilee. It was nice to see her and she stayed for an hour or so.
After Cynthia left, she was going dancing, we decided it was time to eat again. Sarah had been told about a Mexican restaurant in Altoona so we thought we would give it a try. It wasn't to bad, price was reasonable and the service quick.
After Carl & Merilee left we joined some neighbors at there camper and visited and did a bit of drinking. About nine the mosquitoes were beging to bite and half the group went inside their campers. We went over to Dick and Judy's and continued our visit and did a bit more drinking. We called in a night sometime after ten.
This morning we got up and went to church, the grocery store and home. While Sarah did the laundry I put a ham, onions, green beans and potatoes in the crockpot and read the paper. About three I decided to exercise the truck. I started it and decided to put fuel in it, I haven't fueled it since we got back from Mt. Pleasant. Sarah went with me so we drove the truck a bit. I was very pleased by the 9.44 mpg we got. That is an mpg or two lower than we got with the F350 but we are pulling a heavier trailer now.
Anyway the rest of today was spent reading, watching NCIS, and taking a walk.
The weather today was absolutely beautiful, blue sky, very little wind and mid eighties. The perfect day.
Dreams Do Come True.
Since we didn't go to Centerville we decided to get some things done around here. We had to go to the bank because on the form I had them fill out to have my pension direct deposited they put the wrong routing number on the form. As we were getting ready to go we received a call from Carl & Merilee, they wanted to come over. Actually, as Carl put it they were going out to breakfast or come see us. They came over to see us.
We had an hour so we went to the bank and Menard's before they got here. I am looking into buying a ladder, one that makes into a step ladder and an extension ladder, I have a space of four feet I can store one in the back of the truck. I didn't find what I wanted at Menard's so I will look at Lowe's and Home Depot this week.
Carl & Merilee arrived a little after eleven, they had not seen our camper yet so we showed them around, took about three minutes. Since everyone was hungry we went out to eat, we had been there once before, it was good food and service. It was a bit noisy but we enjoyed ourselves. After lunch we stopped at Shorewood RV in Ankeny to look at the motorhomes they had on the lot. There was a Tiffin 40' motorhome that I thought was great, nice floor plan, interior and paint job on the outside. We had to get gas so I stopped at Hy-Vee to get my three cent discount, I had to buy a paper to get the discount, the paper cost fifty cents and my discount was forty three cents. I guess I didn't need to buy the paper. Then we went to the local DQ and had a blizzard, it wss great. It didn't do my diet any good but it seems most of what I am eating lately isn't good for my diet.
We returned home and Cynthia, Sarah's sister, came out to see Carl & Merilee. It was nice to see her and she stayed for an hour or so.
After Cynthia left, she was going dancing, we decided it was time to eat again. Sarah had been told about a Mexican restaurant in Altoona so we thought we would give it a try. It wasn't to bad, price was reasonable and the service quick.
After Carl & Merilee left we joined some neighbors at there camper and visited and did a bit of drinking. About nine the mosquitoes were beging to bite and half the group went inside their campers. We went over to Dick and Judy's and continued our visit and did a bit more drinking. We called in a night sometime after ten.
This morning we got up and went to church, the grocery store and home. While Sarah did the laundry I put a ham, onions, green beans and potatoes in the crockpot and read the paper. About three I decided to exercise the truck. I started it and decided to put fuel in it, I haven't fueled it since we got back from Mt. Pleasant. Sarah went with me so we drove the truck a bit. I was very pleased by the 9.44 mpg we got. That is an mpg or two lower than we got with the F350 but we are pulling a heavier trailer now.
Anyway the rest of today was spent reading, watching NCIS, and taking a walk.
The weather today was absolutely beautiful, blue sky, very little wind and mid eighties. The perfect day.
Dreams Do Come True.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Seeing good friends and Trip to Illinois
Last week was nothing to write about until we got to the weekend, work was the same, our evenings were the same,except for Wednesday, we met long time friends Norma & Orren at "On The Border" Mexican restaurant. It is always a good time when we get together with them. A couple of nights we sat outside with the neighbors, I always knew and it has been verified many times in the four months we have been full timing that the other full timers are a great source of information about the little intricacies of full time RVing. My problem is I won’t remember all of it but when I get into a situation it may trigger a piece of information someone told me and I’ll be able to use it to solve the situation at hand. I probably need to write it down; I guess I will have to remember to do that.
Last Friday evening on my drive home from work, Sarah got off early and a fellow employee gave her a ride home, I received a phone call from Tom & Patsy Kelly, long time friends of ours from the Trailways days in Burlington. They were on the road with their son Brett and family, he was pulling his camper, and Brett’s truck developed some engine problem. They needed a place to camp for the night so they get the truck fixed Saturday morning, so they called us to see where we were camped and if they had any room. I stopped by the campground office and got them a spot, I figured there would be room, Sarah and I walk the campground as much as possible.
Well if truth be told, we walk it as much as she can get me out there; she has walked by herself at times. Anyway, Tom and family arrived about six thirty; it was great to see them. We have only seen them a few times in the past thirty or so years, we have kept in touch but that isn’t the same as sitting down and visiting. We went to Applebee’s for dinner and caught up on all the news. We didn’t solve any of the world’s problems but we had a good time reminiscing. Tom brought up names I had not heard or thought of in years, most of them I have no idea where they are today, names like Swank, Mellinger, Curley, Wood, the guys we used to drive with at Trailways, Dave Frantz may have an idea where a couple of the are now. Saturday morning Tom and Brett got the truck fixed and it was time for them to hit the road, their destination was Austin, MN. We said our good byes and watched them take off.
Then it was time for Sarah and I to get ourselves packed and ready to go to Rock Island, IL to Jumer’s Casino. We went there to meet up with a couple of guys I worked with at Ruan; we try to get together a couple of times each year. Tom & Cathy came over from New Lenox, IL and Chris & Amy live in Rock Island. George & Barb, from Muscatine, were out of town Saturday so they were not able to join us. Sarah and I called Carl & Merilee to see if they wanted to have lunch, they live in North Liberty, so it was on our way.
We met them at Texas Roadhouse and had a good meal and a great visit. After lunch we headed for Rock Island and arrived about three. I went to check in and saw Tom & Cathy, they had just arrived also. The desk clerk could not find my reservation luckily I had the confirmation number on my calendar in my IPhone. The hotel had spelled my last name wrong, Oenig, they forgot the H. The clerk would have never found it and I would have been charged for the room, although I am sure it would have been taken care of for me. We parked the car and went to our room; the room was a king and very nice. The rooms are good size and the baths are quite large. I didn’t like the bed much because it was too soft but I slept well so maybe I shouldn’t complain.
We met back down in the lobby and proceeded to go to the casino. I have gotten into the habit of getting the player’s card, or whatever they call it, at each casino we visit – I plan on collecting them but also sometimes they have some nice perks that go with the cards.
We sat in the video poker bar area to wait for Chris & Amy. Chris is working in Chattanooga, TN and gets home every other weekend, so we appreciate him & Amy joining us for the evening. We visited for a while when they arrived and them went to dinner at O’Melia’s, I believe that is how it is spelled. Amy wasn’t sure we would like the restaurant, it is locally owned and somewhat dated in the décor, but we all loved it. For me it brought back memories of the Arion restaurant in Burlington, it wasn’t quite as big as the Arion but the food was very good. We sat in the bar area which I liked a lot, we had great service and Amy said I would like the Old Fashions the bar tender made, she was right. I had a brandy old fashion; it rivaled the ones I use to get in WI, not a big but just as good. Then I tried one made with Southern Comfort, it was excellent. For dinner I had prime rib with true horseradish not the creamy.
I opted for the large cut and let me tell you it was large. The cut I had was about six inches long, two to three inches wide and every bit of two inches thick, the flavor was excellent. Needless to say I was full when we left.
It was now time to get down to the serious business of losing money and helping the state of Illinois with my donations in the casino. I played some one cent slots, the trouble here is you have to play twenty-five to fifty cents a spin to win anything substantial so you end up going through as much or more money than if you played the more expensive slots. Eventually I went to the video poker and video blackjack machines, I enjoy playing them but I wonder if I would be better off playing with humans. All in all we had a good time and ended the evening watching a young man at the roulette wheel lose over a thousand dollars. He would play almost every number with at least one chip and then put additional chips on certain numbers, not sure what his strategy was but I guessed he could afford to lose the money, he had a couple of young ladies tagging along with him.
It is interesting to watch the people who are in the casinos, almost all of them have the player’s cards but the amount of money you have to play to get any of the perks is unbelievable. I wonder if they tune out how much money they have lost, I can’t believe very many have made money playing the slots. This casino is totally smoke free and I did like that but I don’t believe I would go there anymore than we go to Prairie Meadows here in Des Moines.
Sunday morning we met in the café for breakfast. I ordered blueberry pancakes, I love blueberry pancakes, these were very good and the portion was huge. I got three pancakes within a half inch the diameter of the dinner plate they were on, I also got sausage links. The links were the good kind with the casing on them that makes you cut them with a knife. It was a very good breakfast.
Tom got hold of George and they were going to be home so we checked out and headed their way. Chris & Amy didn’t go because of the number of things they needed to get done during his time home. So with hugs and kisses we said our goodbyes and headed to Muscatine. I plugged the address into the GPS and it took us right to their place.
George & Barb have bought a home on a hill that overlooks the Mississippi river, I love it. They have done some extensive remodeling especially in the basement. Barb’s mother lives with them so they made the basement into her apartment with a separate entrance. It is absolutely fabulous; she has a kitchen, two bedrooms, two baths, washer & dryer etc. The main floor goes out to a screened in deck/porch, which goes out to an area with the grill and hot tub, there are stairs that go down to a very large deck for entertaining. The home is beautiful, very unpretentious from the street side but well decorated on the inside. We had a fabulous visit with them but all good things must come to an end and it was time to get on the road. So with hugs and kisses we headed for home.
Dreams Do Come True
Last Friday evening on my drive home from work, Sarah got off early and a fellow employee gave her a ride home, I received a phone call from Tom & Patsy Kelly, long time friends of ours from the Trailways days in Burlington. They were on the road with their son Brett and family, he was pulling his camper, and Brett’s truck developed some engine problem. They needed a place to camp for the night so they get the truck fixed Saturday morning, so they called us to see where we were camped and if they had any room. I stopped by the campground office and got them a spot, I figured there would be room, Sarah and I walk the campground as much as possible.
Well if truth be told, we walk it as much as she can get me out there; she has walked by herself at times. Anyway, Tom and family arrived about six thirty; it was great to see them. We have only seen them a few times in the past thirty or so years, we have kept in touch but that isn’t the same as sitting down and visiting. We went to Applebee’s for dinner and caught up on all the news. We didn’t solve any of the world’s problems but we had a good time reminiscing. Tom brought up names I had not heard or thought of in years, most of them I have no idea where they are today, names like Swank, Mellinger, Curley, Wood, the guys we used to drive with at Trailways, Dave Frantz may have an idea where a couple of the are now. Saturday morning Tom and Brett got the truck fixed and it was time for them to hit the road, their destination was Austin, MN. We said our good byes and watched them take off.
Then it was time for Sarah and I to get ourselves packed and ready to go to Rock Island, IL to Jumer’s Casino. We went there to meet up with a couple of guys I worked with at Ruan; we try to get together a couple of times each year. Tom & Cathy came over from New Lenox, IL and Chris & Amy live in Rock Island. George & Barb, from Muscatine, were out of town Saturday so they were not able to join us. Sarah and I called Carl & Merilee to see if they wanted to have lunch, they live in North Liberty, so it was on our way.
We met them at Texas Roadhouse and had a good meal and a great visit. After lunch we headed for Rock Island and arrived about three. I went to check in and saw Tom & Cathy, they had just arrived also. The desk clerk could not find my reservation luckily I had the confirmation number on my calendar in my IPhone. The hotel had spelled my last name wrong, Oenig, they forgot the H. The clerk would have never found it and I would have been charged for the room, although I am sure it would have been taken care of for me. We parked the car and went to our room; the room was a king and very nice. The rooms are good size and the baths are quite large. I didn’t like the bed much because it was too soft but I slept well so maybe I shouldn’t complain.
We met back down in the lobby and proceeded to go to the casino. I have gotten into the habit of getting the player’s card, or whatever they call it, at each casino we visit – I plan on collecting them but also sometimes they have some nice perks that go with the cards.
We sat in the video poker bar area to wait for Chris & Amy. Chris is working in Chattanooga, TN and gets home every other weekend, so we appreciate him & Amy joining us for the evening. We visited for a while when they arrived and them went to dinner at O’Melia’s, I believe that is how it is spelled. Amy wasn’t sure we would like the restaurant, it is locally owned and somewhat dated in the décor, but we all loved it. For me it brought back memories of the Arion restaurant in Burlington, it wasn’t quite as big as the Arion but the food was very good. We sat in the bar area which I liked a lot, we had great service and Amy said I would like the Old Fashions the bar tender made, she was right. I had a brandy old fashion; it rivaled the ones I use to get in WI, not a big but just as good. Then I tried one made with Southern Comfort, it was excellent. For dinner I had prime rib with true horseradish not the creamy.
I opted for the large cut and let me tell you it was large. The cut I had was about six inches long, two to three inches wide and every bit of two inches thick, the flavor was excellent. Needless to say I was full when we left.
It was now time to get down to the serious business of losing money and helping the state of Illinois with my donations in the casino. I played some one cent slots, the trouble here is you have to play twenty-five to fifty cents a spin to win anything substantial so you end up going through as much or more money than if you played the more expensive slots. Eventually I went to the video poker and video blackjack machines, I enjoy playing them but I wonder if I would be better off playing with humans. All in all we had a good time and ended the evening watching a young man at the roulette wheel lose over a thousand dollars. He would play almost every number with at least one chip and then put additional chips on certain numbers, not sure what his strategy was but I guessed he could afford to lose the money, he had a couple of young ladies tagging along with him.
It is interesting to watch the people who are in the casinos, almost all of them have the player’s cards but the amount of money you have to play to get any of the perks is unbelievable. I wonder if they tune out how much money they have lost, I can’t believe very many have made money playing the slots. This casino is totally smoke free and I did like that but I don’t believe I would go there anymore than we go to Prairie Meadows here in Des Moines.
Sunday morning we met in the café for breakfast. I ordered blueberry pancakes, I love blueberry pancakes, these were very good and the portion was huge. I got three pancakes within a half inch the diameter of the dinner plate they were on, I also got sausage links. The links were the good kind with the casing on them that makes you cut them with a knife. It was a very good breakfast.
Tom got hold of George and they were going to be home so we checked out and headed their way. Chris & Amy didn’t go because of the number of things they needed to get done during his time home. So with hugs and kisses we said our goodbyes and headed to Muscatine. I plugged the address into the GPS and it took us right to their place.
George & Barb have bought a home on a hill that overlooks the Mississippi river, I love it. They have done some extensive remodeling especially in the basement. Barb’s mother lives with them so they made the basement into her apartment with a separate entrance. It is absolutely fabulous; she has a kitchen, two bedrooms, two baths, washer & dryer etc. The main floor goes out to a screened in deck/porch, which goes out to an area with the grill and hot tub, there are stairs that go down to a very large deck for entertaining. The home is beautiful, very unpretentious from the street side but well decorated on the inside. We had a fabulous visit with them but all good things must come to an end and it was time to get on the road. So with hugs and kisses we headed for home.
Dreams Do Come True
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