Killing time. . .

We left Holland, Michigan, yesterday morning. The campground there was pretty much a pit. We were told when we checked in that the restrooms had just been "redone," but I'm not sure now what that meant. Since we didn't have full hookups and were staying a week, that was a concern, but we got along without using their facilities, with the help of the "blueboy." The pool was supposed to be open for the weekend, but strangely, it was not. And it was expensive as far as campgrounds go.

The bright spot was our neighbors. Four guys who were camping and fishing in Lake Michigan with the 24' fishing boat the one guy had. They caught lake salmon and brought some over for us one night. Boy was it good.

I did get to do some shopping and we visited Sagautuck, Douglas, and Grand Haven. We were going to take a tour of a Great Lakes cargo/ferry boat. It is the last one afloat on the Great Lakes.
It is moored in Douglas, Michigan, and tours are available; however, it was not due to open until Memorial Day and we were a day early. We were at Grand Haven on Memorial Day and it was very crowded. It was a very hot day and everyone was headed out to the state park beach. We walked that way, but didn't go all the way out. I did take pictures of the boats coming/going off the lake. Boy you see all sizes of boats, but there were some huge boats headed out onto Lake Michigan.
Yachts. We did some browsing in Grand Haven's shopping district. Very nice little town, much like Sagautuck.


My connection here is very slow, so I won't be able to post pictures, but once we get back to Goshen, I will do that. We are in a park in Decatur, Michigan, and will be here until Friday when we head back to Indiana. My crowns are to be ready on June 5, and I am ready for them. I cannot eat any solid food as the temporaries keep popping off and breaking.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Holland, Michigan

We came up to Holland, Michigan, to hang out for a week or so. Have done a little browsing around, but mostly just hanging out. Will probably take in a movie, either MI3 or The DaVinci Code.

Last evening we drove out to Lake Michigan and took a couple pictures.
Didn't stay for the sunset. It was a little cool out on the lake and we had an hour or so to wait, so decided to run down the dune instead.
Terry was a chicken and said he would take the pictures. . . hahahaha.


There has been some stormy weather up around here, but it has passed us by every time. We have gotten some wind. Every once in a while it sprinkles, but no big rain or anything.

Those of you keeping track of my dental problems. Both temporary crowns have come off now, numerous times. The cement the dentist gave me doesn't work. I haven't eaten solid food since I got them, preferring to drink instead. . . :-) No, just smoothies and instant breakfast. . . you know. Get the regular crowns on June 5. Hope they stay on better.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Heading Out.

Don't know where to yet, but plan to go somewhere. We are headed back to South Bend yet today. Terry needs bloodwork and I must get another tooth prepped for a crown and the temp he put on yesterday repaired, since it broke this morning. This is just not looking good.

Oh well. I promised a picture of Bailey and Neal's new pen, so when we are here on business, they have a place to play.

Here is a picture of the house. You cannot see Phaeton Place, but to see Phaeton Place parked in the drive is not a pretty site. . . trust me.


Till next time. . .

Dale

Back in Goshen!

Well, we got back to Goshen, Indiana, yesterday afternoon. Phaeton Place is pulled into the drive this time, until we get the leaky antenna fixed in Red Bay. There is enough slope that it will run off the back.

I have been doing lots of laundry and Terry is finishing his building of gates for the deck. Prior to this summer, the dogs could not go into the yard. Instead they were on the deck. So now, he removed the end pieces on the deck and we fenced in an area of yard so the boyz can go out and sniff the bunnies to their hearts' content. They love being outside in the grass, so they are quite happy.

The plan is to leave here Tuesday for a couple weeks in Michigan just looking around. Nothing definite yet. We have to be back the 5th for my crown, then we are off to the family reunion in Mississippi and a couple weeks in Red Bay, Alabama, getting stuff fixed on the coach. Then probably to Memphis for 2 weeks for what will hopefully be my final acupuncture treatments on my back for the year. They have really helped so far. I think when we go to Memphis this time, we may spend some time in Tunica. . . . heh heh.

I knew if we stayed here in Indiana for long, my allergies would start in and they did last night. So now I must raid the medicine cabinet and see what I have available.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Good Friends. . . Good times in St. Paris, Ohio

We left Summit Lake State Park in Indiana on Tuesday and arrived in St. Paris, Ohio, in the afternoon. There we were greeted by Tab and Deanna, who were about the first fulltimers we ever met.
They are still fulltiming, but remaining stationary for awhile. They have their 5-er in a large building, so it is safe from the elements. We had contemplated putting our coach in the building as well, but opted for outside on the grass. You know we have a handicapped dog, and we felt it would be too far for him to walk (and too far to carry him) to get to the grass outside to do his "duty." So we stayed outside.
We were very comfortable and Tab and Deanna are gracious hosts. We enjoyed dinner at Cracker Barrel the first night and then last night Tab grilled chicken for us and we added some other stuff and ate together.

We left there late this morning and traveled north through a storm or two. We had terrible cross winds driving and stopped in Van Wert at an abandoned Wal-Mart for lunch. Then we drove on to Archbold, Ohio, and are staying snug and secure at the Sauder Farm Campground. We will just be here overnight, then head to Goshen tomorrow. I am ready to head out west again. . . wish we could right now. I am so tired of cold and rain. We did go to the Sauder Barn Restaurant tonight and had a good meal, but not as good as Terry remembered it used to be.

Terry is snoozing on the one sofa and Bailey on the other. Neal is laying on his cushion in front of the catalytic heater, so life is grand. :-)

BTW, notice the new toad? We had it in storage all winter. When we left on our full-timing adventure last fall, we had a gasser motorhome and so we opted to keep towing our lightweight GEO Tracker. Now that we have the diesel, we got the Sport Trac out of storage and it seems to be working great so far. It is nice having more room in the toad and also having the truck bed.

Till next time. . .

Dale

RV. . . The Movie

Well, for two weeks we have had one of our kids with us and yesterday afternoon, Brandon left for the airport. Jocelyn had spent 10 days with us and we had a really good visit. Brandon came in Saturday, left to go to a friend's wedding, then returned to spend the night. Then yesterday morning we went to Muncie and he took me out to eat for Mother's Day. We went to my favoriate restaurant, Texas Roadhouse, for STEAK. Having had so much recent trouble with my teeth, I had given up eating most anything I had to chew. Now that my teeth are pretty much fixed, I greatly enjoyed the steak.

We returned to the motorhome and visited until around 4 p.m. at which time Brandon had to leave. He had a long evening ahead of him and didn't arrive home until 1:45 a.m. and had to go to work today, but he did make it safely.

After he left yesterday, things were too quiet and the rain just kept coming. Except for one brief respite, it continues even today. Everything is wet, so we spend all our time inside the coach.
I was getting a little weary of it and suggested to Terry that we take in the movie RV last night. We rarely go to the movies anymore and certainly not when we have to pay full price, but I wanted to do something that would be fun. So we trekked back to Muncie and took in the flick. It was funny. I know it's not getting good reviews, but RVers will find enough in it to laugh about to make it worthwhile. I do think if the producers had consulted actual RVers and fulltimers, they would have been able to produce an even better movie. I believe most in the audience were RVers because we found many things humorous the general public wouldn't understand.

This afternoon Bailey has his yearly exam, so we are here another day for that and then will start moving. Terry is in charge of destinations, but I think it will involve Tab and Deanna somehow. :-)

Till next time. . .

Dale

Rain, rain and more rain

Well, Terry has his work cut out for him. He's going to start building an ark. It has rained for 4 days, and rain is forecast for the next week. Bummer. At least is isn't a hard rain (at least right now) and it isn't freezing, although it is colder than we like.

We are at Summit Lake State Park near Mooreland, Indiana, where our former home is located. We are here because son Brandon flew in to Indy Thursday and is attending the wedding of a high school classmate. So we came down here with Phaeton Place so we could see him and provide him a "room" for the night. He has to share his room with the dogs, but hey. . . beggars can't be choosers. He really likes Phaeton Place and feels it is very comfortable for us.

We watched this park being built, from building the dam to acquiring the land. I remember thinking 20+ years ago that the campground would be nice once the trees were grown and the grass takes root. It is quite beautiful now and one section of it is quite adequate for big rigs. While we have a lot of rain, we aren't standing in it when we go out and we have been able to keep the awnings out as it isn't too windy, so the dogs don't have to get thoroughly soaked, although Neal always does.

This park was never accessible in recent years because it was so popular. . . one of the few campgrounds in the area and if you wanted a weekend spot, you had to be here by Tuesday. That is probably history, now, since Indiana changed their rates and this site (water, electric) is $28 on the weekend with a 2-night minimum. Indiana has really shot themselves in the foot. They probably don't realize it yet, but there are probably only a dozen campers in here this weekend. I realize it is raining, but I seriously doubt the people around here will pay that kind of money to camp. But it was the closest place for us and for Brandon and the location of the wedding, so we are enjoying the solitude.

The trees are in full foliage now and everything is very green. Just would like a little warmer weather. Oh, we did tow the Sport Trac for the first time. Towed it down here and it still works after that, so I guess we did it right! Terry spent most of the week getting it ready and it really is nice have a bit larger vehicle (from the Tracker) to ride around in. And the pickup bed is useful to carry more stuff too.

We made a doctor appointment for Bailey for Monday. He is due for his shots and didn't want to take off anywhere else until we got that done. I think we are going to hang around here and maybe Ohio until next weekend when we have to return to Elkhart for my crown work on my tooth.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Root canal is done!

Well, as of 7:30 am, I am the proud and somewhat poorer owner of a root canal. Never had one before, didn't want this one. But alas, the fates were against me. My appointment was at 7. I was early, as usual for me, and I was in the chair a bit before 7. After all the preliminaries and a promise from the good doctor that he would not hurt me, he started about 7:10. Was done at 7:30. The guy is good, what can I say. When he started he said, "Now you should not feel any pain whatsoever. . . if you feel anything, raise your hand." Three times I twinged and he added more anesthetic, but I have to say. . . it was much less an ordeal than I had imagined. He said the tissues were quite inflamed, adding to my discomfort. We knew there was infection and I am now on antibiotics for that. The biggest surprise was that it was not the tooth 3 dentists told me it was. The infection was between two teeth and I could only guess which was hurting. The other guys concurred, but this fellow said. . . "I don't think that's the one with the problem." But promised to find out. Tapping on them didn't disclose the problem tooth, but then he said, "I'm going to apply ice to each tooth and you tell me which hurts worse." The one we all thought was bad didn't react, but when he touch the other. . . well let's just said my actions spoke louder than words.

I now must have a crown placed on that tooth. I cannot believe what this all costs, but I am certainly glad I found this guy for the root canal. He is definitely an expert. I am now anxious for the discomfort (no real pain) to go away so I can chew. Since it is opposite where I had the extraction Tuesday, I am quite handicapped as to chewing and eating. So I am having soup and instant breakfast, etc. I am just so glad that after almost 7 months of pain from these problems that occurred after we started fulltiming that I am finally to the point where I should not have any more pain. The good doctor did tell me that when I have another similar problem anywhere in the country, he expects he will be seeing me to get it fixed. I gave him a thumbs up on that one.

In other news, son Brandon has arrived at Indianapolis airport, getting his rental care and staying with his best friend from high school tonight. We will see him Saturday. We are leaving tomorrow morning to go to Summit Lake State Park for 3 days to be close to him. Since I have a week before I have to have the crown prep done, we are going to slum around and not head back up here immediately.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Sleepy time gal

Well, I got my tooth out yesterday afternoon. The oral surgeon was very efficient. I planned on going to sleep for it. He was excited about us being full-timers and wants to do the same thing when he retires. He was asking me about Phaeton Place as he pressed the needle in my hand and the next thing I know the hygienist was helping me walk out to the car. I was awake and feeling pretty good. Stopped and got a frosty so I could take a pain pill. Came home, sat in the recliner and was out like a light. Got up later and fixed a bowl of soup, then sat back down and . . . you guessed it. . . out like a light. Woke up at 4 a.m. and took another pain pill and slept until 6 when the dogs got up and wanted out. Have been up ever since. Have some stitches, but nothing hurts. I hope the root canal tomorrow goes as well. They won't put me to sleep for it, but have promised it won't hurt. . . . yeh, yeh, I know, their lips were moving.

It keeps thundering and lightning here, but nothing else is happening, so don't know if it will rain or not.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Coach Care, Goshen

If you ever need work or routine maintenance on your rig while in northern Indiana, you won't find a better place than Coach Care. They are an authorized Cummins service center as well as Onan. They can do warranty work on the Allison, so that is what they did for us along with the generator.

They have six campsites out back, concrete pads, electric and nice grass and shade if you have to stay. They are really nice people. We took Phaeton Place in early for the 8:00 appoinment and got it back in the afternoon. The only glitch was that the serviceman threw the door lock on the door when he exited the coach, locking the door. We NEVER use the door lock, always opting for the deadbolt and all the keys for the doorlock were inside he coach. AAAAAaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! Had he just used the keys to lock it, he would have thrown the correct lock. So back in we went. The service guy was worried, one could tell, but another said. . . . I'll get Danny with his keys. Danny came out, never cracking a smile, not a bit of moisture on his brow. Andy said, "We need a series F key." Danny calmly singled out a little key and opened the door on the first try. Hah. I want you to know that now BOTH keyrings have the doorlock key on them along with the deadbolt.

Phaeton Place is back in her appointed spot in the driveway, the interior is cleaned and ready to go. We leave Friday for 3 days in central Indiana to see Brandon. He is flying in for a friend's wedding and will stay with us Saturday night. After that we are no sure where we are headed as I have some dental work to finish up here the following week. I should be good to go then for awhile. Check back later in the day. I am going to try and post pictures.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Work, work, work

Boy I do hate stick houses. We are here temporarily while we get some things done. I am going through boxes down in the basement. These are things we threw (literally) into storage here and now as we have time and are here visiting family I need to go through as I can.

Jocelyn has been going through her stuff. The kids probably have as much stuff here as we do and I am hoping they can sift through it periodically and throw out what they no longer want. That has helped me because she and I can work together down there and visit, etc.

Terry reworked part of the deck the other day. Five years ago he slapped some boards up to keep the dogs on the deck so they would have a place to go outside here since the yard isn't fenced. Then he made an exit ramp off the deck on the one end and we bought some nice fence sections so they have a large grassy yard to go to. Yesterday was their first full day with it and I never got them inside. They wanted out for the entire day. I think they like it because the grassy part enables them to see across the yard and even into the yards of neighbors in the other subdivision. Our house is higher than those, so they get a good view. They are content just to watch what is happening in the neighborhood.

Yesterday Terry worked all day getting the Sport Trac set up to tow. He got the base plate on the front (with my help on some of the bolts in hard to reach places) and then wired the lights so they use the existing taillight lenses. I went out once, fired up the diesel Phaeton and tried the lights. Of course, they didn't work, so Terry decided he needed to go back to the drawing board. Upon closer inspection, he convinced himself they would work better if they had light bulbs in them, so that was fixed in short order. Hah.

Tomorrow Phaeton Place goes in early for its first service. They will do the generator and the transmission service. . . I think that is all that is needed at this point. Too early for an oil change, but they will check everything out and make sure nothing looks amiss. While in northern Indiana, we use Coach Care in Goshen (actually between Goshen and Elkhart). They have always given us superb service and they are really nice people to work with.

Today I hope to do a little straightening up in Phaeton Place and get it ready to move. We are leaving Thursday morning to go back to central Indiana. Son Brandon is flying in for a high school classmate's wedding, so we are going down so we can see him. Today we are also going over to niece Michelle and Rod's house. They have two little girls. Their youngest is two and was born with heart (surgery was done at just a few days old) and kidney problems. Kira, thanks to modern miracles of technology, now has no restrictions with regard to her heart at all and the one "below average" kidney continues to amaze everyone with gaining strength. You can read her story here: Kira Grace
Yesterday Michelle's sister, niece Staci, brought her two-year old Brianna by to visit. It was good to see the girls and visit. Staci and Jocelyn are just 6 weeks apart in age and they hadn't seen each other for several years.

This evening, then, sister-in-law Nancy and husband Tom are coming over. We haven't seen them in ages. Nancy was mom to Michelle and Staci after my sister died when the girls were very young. She holds a very special place in our hearts.

It's good to have good managers. Yesterday while Terry was working on the Sport Trac, our manager came by and said one of the tenants called with a minor problem. He stopped at the house here to pick up some parts and tools and was off for the duplex two doors down. Why they didn't call us, I don't know, but George likes being the "go to" guy and he had the toilet flush value problem fixed quickly and everyone was happy. We have such good tenants. They are wonderful people and we take care of problems very quickly. We want them to think of their place as their home and they do take pride in them and it shows.

Tuesday and Thursday I get my dental work done and at this point. . . I am looking forward to it. I have been having problems since October and tried to get something done in February, but just couldn't get in. Hopefully by the end of the week, I should be on the road to recovery, albeit probably sore. But the worst should be behind me hopefully.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Shipshewana. . . King of Fleamarkets

What can I say? If you like flea markets, you must put Shipshewana, Indiana, on your list of must-see places. Plan an entire day because the flea market is so large, once you are done, you will have to do some serious R&R. We went Wednesday. Took our daughter. It was the first week of the season and probably only half the vendors were set up. Even at that, it was a lot of ground to cover and plenty of vendors. We managed to spend a few $$ there.

We actually didn't cover the entire thing, because we also wanted to go to Yoder's meat market and then there was the general store. We also stopped at E & S which is an Amish grocery store. Jocelyn likes it because she can buy a lot of organic foods and bulk foods. Spices are extremely cheap there as well and in large containers. Then it was out to Yoder's popcorn farm where she purchased her month's allotment.

An enjoyable day in Amish country. Came by the draft horse farm on the way there and back and got to see the new colts. They are so cute. A lot of new horses in the country every year, but this particular farm raises only draft horses. As they get older, they separate them into pastures according to age, so you can see several sizes, ages of horses. A special treat.

Yesterday I finally got into see a dentist who seems intent on helping me with my tooth problems. I have always seen a dentist regularly, but when we left for full-timing last fall, my teeth seemed to start falling apart. I will have one extracted on Tuesday next week and another will get a root canal on Thursday. Once that tooth is finished, I will be good to go for awhile, I think. I have been give the choice of an implant or a bridge on the one being extracted. I don't want either one. Prices are so high for either one. I could buy a car for what they want to do either. Anyone reading this have any experience with a partial? The dentist says I will hate it and won't wear it, but he will make it if I want it. I would like input from readers who have had them. They are much cheaper.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Goshen, Indiana

Last week we headed down to central Indiana and Terry touched base with his doctors. He is doing really well and had a very good winter. They all concurred and since he is back in the area temporarily, they have decided to change some of his meds. We really hate to do this because he has adjusted so well to his meds, but they want to change the one to reduce any potential side effects, so we are giving it a try. So far, Terry is continuing to do well, although at times he gets a little tired.

We have been busy doing little things around the house here. The kitchen faucets were leaking and needed attention. That is done. The deck is getting some remodeling. . . . very simple. . . removing some boards, etc., to make a path for the dogs to get down to their newly fenced yard area. Terry has to build a ramp for Neal, our handicapped Scottie, so he can get up and down. Yesterday there was a bunny in their new yard who couldn't get out and I had to run out and open the door to release it. Bailey is still mad at me for that. He wanted to have a go at the bunny.

Jocelyn is here and she will at some point be driving back to Virginia, but we are enjoying her. She is going through some of the boxes in the basement and throwing a bunch of stuff away. Yay! I need to join her down there maybe tomorrow and start getting some stuff put away.

I really don't like being here. My motorhome is sitting in the drive and I don't like that. . . I want to be gone. But we are leaving in another week and heading south again. . . to see Brandon who is flying in for a wedding and then on to Memphis and my acupuncturist, then Mississippi for the family reunion.

Till next time. . .

Dale