Back in Goshen

We are back in Goshen after spending 3 days in central Indiana for doctor's appointments. We figured we have made about 10 trips to the doctors down there this summer. Ugh. That is just poor planning. Last year when we were getting the house emptied and gearing up for our life on the road, we didn't plan those appointments too well. Next year is different. We are setting the stage now to have fewer trips down there next year. We want to keep the same doctors, but better organization is a must.

We are still trying to get the DataStorm up and running like it should. Still not there. MotoSat was to perform tests yesterday to determine which hardware needs to be replaced. Haven't heard any results. The good thing about being here at the house is that we have DSL, so we are running smoothly right now. We will have a resolution on the DataStorm (one way or the other) by the time we leave here the 17th of October.

We have an apartment for rent. That's the reason we are here. Would like to get a new renter in there within the next 2 weeks. Had one call last evening that sounded promising. We have strict requirements, but then our renters are the best tenants in the world. In fact, the tenant leaving says he feels like he is leaving family.

It is colder here than what we like, so we are anxious to get our work done here and get headed south for warmer weather. We will probably have to stop in Red Bay, Alabama. The slide malfunction we had a few weeks ago has occurred again. . . that after getting a clean bill of health from a repair shop. Fortunately, Terry knows how to fix it. The key is when I deploy the slide, if I hear anything or see anything out of order, stop immediately. This time, the pin sheared, but it was only about 1/2 inch out of kilter, so it was easy and required little effort to fix. Terry has laid in a supply of pins to fix it, but we want it working better.

Mickey and Patti returned here to Goshen after the Escapade to attend a Montana rally. They are leaving this morning. Since we got in yesterday afternoon, we picked them up and took them to Alley Oops for dinner last night. We had a good time and went back to their trailer for coffee and a visit afterwards. We will really miss them. They are headed to Yuma for the winter and we haven't decided exactly where our travels will take us. We know we will be in the Rio Grande Valley with Mom and Dad for Christmas. But from there, we don't know.

Till next time. . .

Dale

PS: Since I posted a picture of our son last time, some of you have asked what Brandon does. He is a network security engineer for a government contractor in Melbourne, Florida.

Bad two days! One bright spot!

Friday after Escapade we had a Datastorm installed. It did not go well. We are creeping along, sometimes at UNDER 100 kpbs. I'm telling ya', nothing happens when you are there. Dealer spent all day Friday, most of the day Saturday. We had to leave Sunday morning, and are in a dilemma as to what to do. I think I will reinstall my air card today.

The one great thing Sunday was making a trip to Indianapolis to see son Brandon. He had flown to Lafayette for homecoming and he and a friend were on their way back to the airport. We caught up with them and took them out to eat. It is always good to see the kids.



Today we have a "free" day. Nothing on the docket except to pick up mail in New Lisbon. We are in the RV park off Wilbur Wright Road and I-70 about 10 miles from our former home. Tomorrow we have one doctor appointment, one hair cut (Yay!) and one blood work, Wednesday a doctor appointment and vet appointments, then we are back up north to try and rent an apartment.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Naa na naa naa, naa na naa na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye!

That's what got sung to me in the restaurant the last night of Escapade. As per my usual sloppy self, I dribbled some sauce from the Chinese food on my shirt. Patti just happened to have her "Tide White Out" pen, which I used to scour out the blob and everybody in our group (6 tables) started singing. Talk about red. It was so funny because everybody in the restaurant chimed in, I think.

We are sitting here in the Van Wert fairgrounds and I am thoroughly steamed. We had a Datastorm installed yesterday and it isn't working properly yet. The installer worked 10 hours yesterday and another 8 today and is now waiting on a call back from Motosat to change the satellite we are on. Don't know what to do. If he doesn't come back and finish tonight, we have to be outta here tomorrow. Bummer. Then we had to move because our jacks sank in the mud and we were listing to the starboard side. When I went to put the slide back out, the pin broke again just like a couple weeks ago. Had it worked on then and declared fit and healed, but the darn thing broke again. Fortunately, I stopped it immediately and Terry went and got another pin, put it in and we are in business again.

A really bad day.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Escapade!

Well, we ended up being delayed in leaving last week, but I was glad to be able to help my sister out. There was a death in her husband’s family and I knew I could help her with some stuff, like cleaning, etc. It would certainly shorten the time she would have to spend on that and we had a great time visiting and working together. I’ve just never had the opportunity to do anything like this for her because we have always been gone whenever something happened.

We did make it to the Celina Fairgrounds Friday evening. It was great to see everyone. As soon as we arrived, we immediately started the HOBO stew. Terry had browned some ground beef and onion in the morning, like 5 pounds, and we tossed that into a pot and added a can of veggies from everybody. It was delicious and we all enjoyed the fellowship and the food.

We had a pitch-in, aka potluck, then on Saturday night. We put all the grills together in one area and grilled burgers. We had plenty of side dishes, condiments and desserts, so we had another great meal all together.

We gathered at the entrance to the fairgrounds around 9:30 am, then caravanned to the Van Wert, Ohio, fairgrounds where we are now parked. As luck would have it, Sunday was a beautiful day, but it may be that was the only nice day to be had all week. It started raining last night and has been steadily raining all day today. We went to one seminar this morning which was really bad, so left after 10 minutes and walked around the indoor market area.

We came back to the motorhome for lunch, then grabbed Patti and we went to WalMart. We got a few items, then came back and Terry is taking a nap while I write this. We are going to a seminar later today and then we are going to visit Pam and Smokey’s booth to share Pam’s birthday cake! Then back home until time for door prizes tonight.


Till next time. . .

Dale

Loadin' Up, Headin' Out!

Well, tomorrow is the day we leave for the pre-Escapade rally. Yay! Lookout. . . here we come! Whoo Hoo ! I'm not too excited to get away, now am I? We had a great week with Mickey and Patti. They stayed over at the fairgrounds and we popped in on them and took them places. We visited Shipshewana a second time. . . this time for the Amish dry goods store just down the road from the fairgrounds, E&S Sales (an Amish grocery), and Yoder's Department store. It was fun. I enjoy those places and it is too much to try and go there when you also go to the flea market. So we went on a non-flea market day and there weren't as many people. We drove out through the country as well. We all enjoyed it.

Yesterday we took Mickey and Patti down to Claypool, Indiana, to where my sister is building her house. The dry wall is up and the workers are supposed to be finishing the dry wall in the next two weeks. We also toured the trailer Mom and Dad had set down there in the woods. Mom and Dad are moving out of their trailer in the trailer court up here so when they are home from Texas, they will be at the woods in their new home next to Jim and Nita. We will be the only ones left in Goshen except for my nieces and a sister-in-law and Terry's few relatives. I guess that really leaves quite a few of us, doesn't it?

I had a prescription that had to be ordered and I got it today. We were waiting on Neal's meds as well and they did not get here. I called and instead of their shipping it the day they TOLD me they would, they shipped a day later, so it will probably be here tomorrow and Terry doesn't want to wait. We has enough to cover until we get to New Castle in 2 weeks, so I will have to visit the vet then to get more. It's his seizure meds so we must keep him controlled.

Well, it has rained off and on today. We have loaded up in between showers. Now I have to bathe both dogs and I am done for the evening. Save me a spot by the campfire!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Hail, hail, the gang's all here!

Well, they were on Sunday, anyway. Our daughter and her husband Tom came in Sunday morning at 1 a.m.
They had standard Poodle Jericho in tow.
They are tent camping their way to South Dakota and Colorado and stopped by here to see us first.

I had family in Sunday afternoon for a cookout so everybody could see the kids. They are here so infrequently. . . well, I guess that goes for us, too, so I try to invite people over. Mickey and Patti were here as well and we had a very nice time.


Monday Terry and I drove down to the woods south of Warsaw where my sister Nita and husband Jim are building their house. Last week they had the slab poured and Mom and Dad's trailer was delivered. They set it in the woods and it is convenient so Mom and Dad will have a nice place to stay when they are in Indiana. Their trailer park where they are now is being overrun with. . . well, with people. No one is taking any pride in their places now, much different than when they first moved there. They do have a buyer for their mobile home there, so by next spring, they will be comfortable down at the woods when in the north. They still will spend their winters in Texas.

Yesterday Mickey and Patti's 5'er went into the shop, so they came over here and hung out with us. . . did laundry. . . kicked back. . . Mickey worked on Terry's computer and Frosty played with Bailey and Neal. It was a most enjoyable day, but we were all tired because we had gotten up early.

Today we got up early to take Phaeton Place into the shop to have the slide worked on. They had it all day and could not find a thing wrong with it. Slide works perfectly and everything checks out on it, so don't know what to think. It does work smoother than before it malfunctioned. So I guess we will just have to see what happens next. A pleasant surprise was to find that the company where we took it to be repaired is owned and operated by a man with whom I graduated from high school. He was recommended to us by Bob Tiffin himself, so I think that speaks highly of him. It was good to connect. His wife works in the office, so we had a nice chat.

I have some pictures to add, but I will have to find the camera. We have been doing some slumlord stuff this week. We have 9 apartments and a few matters that needed attention. We also have a unit coming open, so will have to try and get that rented before we leave for the warmer country.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Burp, groan!!

That's what we were doing after eating at Essenhaus. It's the Amish restaurant in Middlebury. We picked up Mickey and Patti this afternoon and took them there to eat. It was wonderful. We ate family style and had chicken, baked steak, mashed potatoes, homemade noodles, dressing, green beans, bread, tossed salad, and our choice of pie. Man, oh man, was it good.


Afterward Patti and I shopped at the Village Shops while the guys sat and talked. I found a sweatshirt with an embroidered Scottie dog on the front that I just had to have.

Tomorrow I am going to be busy getting ready for the cookout on Sunday afternoon. Also, our daughter Jocelyn and son-in-law Tom are getting in late tomorrow night on their way west on a (tent) camping trip.

Till next time. . .

Dale

RV Surplus, Camping World, DeMartini Sales

Today the Ivey's and the Pace's went browsing. We started by showing them where the new RV Hall of Fame and Museum is located. We will probably get over to see the current museum some time, but the new one is much larger and very impressive.

We went to RV Surplus and then on to Arrow just to show them the two places we have talked about so much. Then we went on to Camping World where we had to eventually confiscate Mickey's credit card or Patti would not have been able to get out of town. He was about to max it out. He just went wild, like a kid in a candy store. We tried to get Mickey to buy the new Garmin Nuvi 350 like we got, but he thought it was too big.


We browsed and toured through all the coaches at the RV Sales Center which I guess is now going by the name of Camping World Camper Sales. It used to be Hart City, but it has changed owners. We looked for our favorite salesman and couldn't find him. We do think we have Mickey and Patti coming back over to the "dark side," as they were thinking of putting money down on the Newmar Kountry Star. :-)


From there we drove on down to Wakarusa to the new DeMartini sales center. Brand new and very nice and THERE was our favorite salesman from Hart City. He is no longer working for Hart City. Said when the owners changed, they wanted the sales staff to start playing mind games with the customers and he didn't like it so he went down the road to DeMartini. It was good to see him again. His name is Ron C. so if any of you get to Wakarusa to look at coaches, look him up. We get no royalties from that, but he is just a nice salesman, something you don't always find in this industry.

From there we drove back to the house and the Ivey's disembarked and headed for home, the Goshen fairgrounds. Tomorrow we are going to meet up with them again and go to eat at Essenhaus. It is so fun to have friends with us here.


After they left I took Neal for a ride in his new stroller. He seemed to like it. He sat right down and enjoyed the ride. Bailey walked alongside.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Shipshewana!

We arrived in Goshen Monday afternoon and camped next to Mickey and Patti (RVNotebook) at the Goshen fairgrounds. Not much fun when you have a dead slide you cannot put out. Bailey, our Scottish Terror is all about space. . . his, at least; and he didn't take too kindly to Neal's stumbling around. So we came on over to the house on Tuesday. We do have an appointment to get the slide fixed on September 6. We have family coming in this weekend and a big cookout planned.

Today we took Mickie (sic) and Patti to Shipshewana to the flea market. We had such a great time. It has been raining up here for several days and today was supposed to be dry. It sure looked ominous this morning, but as the sun broke through, it looked like it might work to go. We have been there in the rain and you can stay pretty dry unless it's a downpour. It was cool from all the rain, and it wasn't very crowded. It turned out to be the perfect day. It did not rain on us and the sun came out eventually. I think it stayed in the high 70's which was just perfect for walking. The two big winners of the day were Neal and Frosty who got new doggie strollers to ride in. It was after 2 when we finally left.

We drove through the country back to the fairgrounds and Mickey and Patti got to see a lot of the Amish countryside. We arrived back at the camp and Frosty was so glad to see us (well, Patti at least). We all climbed back into the SporTrac and came back over to the house so the Ivey's could pick up their truck.

What a great day. Finished it off with a nap!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Lake Erie, Ohio

We left Berlin, Ohio, Friday morning and drove north up towards Lake Erie. We are in a campground in a little town called Milan. The campground is sufficient, but the sights are small.

Last evening we went out looking at the sights. We drove over to Vermillion and went to a Maritime Museum. It wasn't real big, but it was interesting. Outside the building was the lighthouse which had been relocated and was actually shorter than the original. I don't believe it is in use anymore. The lake is very pretty, but it's hard to get close to it. We saw so many boats and big boats. Today we went into Sandusky which is an interesting town, but there isn't much in their downtown. They were having a wine and food tasting, but we opted for a small shop where we got some ice cream. We also went to their maritime museum which was smaller than the one we saw yesterday. We then strolled out onto the pier at Battery Park. We could see Kelly Island across the bay and also we could see Cedar Point. That is one place we have never been.

We drove around and found Thomas Edison's birthplace. We didn't go in, but it was built close to where a canal was built to load the schooners off the lake. Quite interesting. We are just really taking it easy.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Wie geht's! (How are you from Amish Country)

My apologies to my many readers on not posting earlier. I hate not having adequate internet function to post and it still is not enough to post pictures, but I will try to catch up. I have written some things and will include them beneath this post.

Today we are sitting still watching the Nascar race. Last week we had some doctor appointments in central Indiana and while we were there, we camped back at Summit Lake near our old home. We did not go by the old place this time. The park there is a very nice park, but since the state has seen fit to raise the rates exorbitantly, you can count the number of campers on just two hands. Years ago, when our kids worked there summers during college, you couldn’t get a campsite. In fact, we gave up trying to camp there because you had to get in on Tuesday before the weekend if you wanted a spot. Now there are plenty of vacancies and no one wants to camp there because of the price. Thanks to the new governor Indiana has, I can see state campgrounds closing due to lack of use and revenue. Seems to me it would be more cost effective to drop the price a little and fill them up every weekend rather than charge more and decrease the attendance to roughly 10%.

We left Summit Lake on Friday morning, thinking it would be hard to find a place. We had decided to head over to Ohio’s Amish country, since we had never been here. The Amish in different parts of the country are all different. Having been raised in Amish country, we don’t come here to look at the Amish, but to visit the meat shops/bakeries, craft shops and restaurants. We found a lovely no-frills campground with large spaces, navigable roads and full hookups. There is no shower house, but that is fine with us. With full hookups, we have everything we need. It is $22 a night, 3 for $20 per night, or a week for $130, so we are here for a week. This area is Berlin, Ohio, lots of German influence. We have been to one restaurant and it was very good. This morning we went to a cheese house and stocked up. Most everything is closed today. It is so peaceful and serene here. It’s late enough in the season, it’s not real crowded and by staying a week, we don’t have to try and do everything all at one time.

It has been really hazy here with rain expected every day, but never did have any. Today is the first sunny day and it is gorgeous. We ran out into the country a little and I took some pictures, but I’m sure the pictures won’t do the scenery justice. It is so rolling here. So many hills, with farms dotting the landscapes. Bigger barns than houses in many cases with lots of buildings for animals. Today driving through the country we passed many farms where church was being held. At some, church was over and all the menfolk were out in the yard talking and the women were on the other side talking. Several families walking home.

We met some other Tiffin owners here and one group were here just back from a Tiffin rally. They come here often, so we may try to keep watch and connect with them another time. This is a great place to come and relax and still have things to look at and visit. There is a wood carver shop Terry wants to visit. He had read about the guy years ago and wants to see some of his work. We also were in Mt. Hope this morning and saw the Wayne-Dalton headquarters. They were Terry’s competitors when he was in the garage door business.
Yesterday we visited the flea market. It was mostly craft stuff and Terry was disappointed, but I liked looking. I did find some ribbon I use for making Christmas decorations. We left there and went to Trail where we bought some of the infamous Trail bologna. We drove out through the country before coming back to the camp.

Last evening we went for our walk and came back by a couple in a new Allegro Bay just two spots back from us. We ended up sitting and chatting around the fire. For some reason, there were no mosquitos and we eventually went and got the dogs and sat around the fire with them until 10:30 when we retired. Neal got plenty of ear scratches from Beth so he was in heaven. Bailey sat with his back to everyone. . . typical Bailey. . . typical Scottie behavior. Hee hee

Till next time. . .

Dale




August 12, 2006

Well, we left the YMCA Day Camp on Saturday and started driving south through Ohio. Just were trying to find a campground and something to look at for a few days. I started calling as Terry was driving and found out numerous festivals and fairs were behind held and there was nary a campground to be found. I called a half dozen places and finally found one that said they had one spot left (usually not a good thing when you are 40’ with four slides). The one lone campsite left is usually the one no one wanted and won’t always work for us. But we were headed down toward St. Marys, Ohio, so we were rolling along highway 33. Just then Terry looked up and said, “Well, there’s a campground right on the highway.” I looked and sure enough, a decent looking camp with sites aplenty and a few campers in there. Kind of no frills, but that would usually mean nice and quiet, so pulled in and got a site. As we were making our way through to our site, we passed a Gulf Stream Atrium with Oregon plates. We knew it was a long shot, but asked the proprietor if that would happen to be Hawkeys, who were members of our Graduating Class of 2005. Would you believe he said, “Well, yes it is.” We first met them last year at Rend Lake. They were just starting out full-timing and were headed to the Escapade. They were not camped in the area near our group, but we invited them over to sit by our campfire and “friends were born.” They were excited to see us as we were them. They invited us down to St. Mary’s Summerfest which they were attending later. We went with them and got to eat some homemade ice cream which was delicious. We walked around a little, took a tour of the St. Marys’ Canal Boat and then Dan took us on a tour around Grand Lake on the way home. We passed by a party in progress and got to meet Dee and Dan’s son and his wife who were here from Virginia. We decided to spent 3 nights at this camp since our friends were here and got to visit a few more times before we left. We talked them into joining us at least for an afternoon in Celina at the pre-Escapade rally and they will also be with us in the generator area at the Escapade.

We left there on Tuesday, August 15.

Till next time. . .

Dale


August 10, 2006

We left the “storage facility” in Goshen late in the afternoon and drove to Dundee, Michigan. I wanted to visit Cabela’s again and it wasn’t a disappointment. The plan was to find a campground nearby and go the next day. But campgrounds are not easy to find in Michigan and so we stopped off and did our shopping that afternoon. We contemplated spending the night in the parking lot along with the other motorhomes, but decided against it. We left there and drove to Temperance, Michigan, and camped at the Vine Lodge and Campground. The location says it all. They only give discounts for being members of the YMCA and the WCTU (Women’s Christian Temperance Union). Hmmmmm. Should have asked a few more questions. We got a nice spot on the lake/pond front and got set up. Sites were not that good. Barely any gravel, mostly grass/dirt and lumpy at that. And quite narrow.

Early the next morning, like around 7 or 7:15-ish, we hear what sound like garbage trucks. Oh that it were the sound of garbage trucks. Instead it was 3 busloads (yellow schoolie type) of kids. Yes, folks, this is the YMCA DAY CAMP! Arggggghhhhh. They unloaded the kids and life was not the same after that. They took to canoes, and other assorted points around the lake and our quiet life was over. . . . at least for the weekend. Ugh. We had paid for Thursday and Friday, so we stayed, but then we rolled. Enough of that!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Being retired is hard work!

I'm still trying to get used to sleeping in until 7:30-8:00 every morning. It's hard when you were used to getting up at 5 a.m. for 34 years. It sure is sweet.

We have been ordering things that we need, since we have a physical address to where things may be shipped. Terry's ordered some travel books, a couple warranty items from Tiffin, and I ordered new phones. We needed to upgrade our plan and it was time to get some new phones, so we got that done. They came today and I am charging them, getting ready to activate them.

We have been busy cleaning out the basement. That is where we stored everything of ours when we made the final push to empty the house in Mooreland. Still have a ton of stuff down there, but it is mostly the kids' stuff. Jocelyn has been through hers once, but Brandon has yet to some look at it. He doesn't think he wants any of it, but I don't care to make that decision for him.

I get my root canal re-done on Wednesday and Terry wants to take off again. He is getting too antsy sitting here at the house. So we are going to take a run up to Dundee, Michigan, to the Cabello's there and look around. Will mosey on down to the central part of the state for doctor appointments, then back here probably.

till next time. . .

Dale

Working hard. . . well . . .

Well, everyone is complaining about the weather, so no need to rehash the 110 degree days (with heat index).

Dogs don't want to go out much. Don't blame them. We don't go out if we don't have to. We have been taking care of little things. Had a couple minor maintenance jobs Terry got done on one apartment. When it gets cooler, we will probably make the rounds and visit the neighbors and see how everyone is doing. Took the truck in and had the tires rotated and an alignment and the transmission serviced. that should do for awhile.

We intend to replace the kitchen floor here in the main house. The vinyl is shot and we are looking at laminate flooring. Hate to put much money into it, but it has to be done, so might as well get something we like. Will probably change the dishwasher and the range at the same time. Just hate doing it. Hate having things torn up. And we need to paint before we do the floor. Ugh. Anyone have a magic wand?

We are going to be here for a few weeks, then back to central Indiana for doctor appointments, then off to the Escapade. We won't leave for the winter until the middle of October.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Okay

I've added some new pix, but I put them back on the correct dates, so some of them are in the June 2006 archives.

Till next time. . .

Dale

New life!

I don't thnk I mentioned it, but while we were in Tunica at the Hollywood casino campground, we found a KillDeer nest with four eggs in it.
The Mom dutifully sat on those eggs and we were anxious to see the hatchlings. Much to our surprise, one day they just disappeared! No eggs, no nest, no nuthin'. :-(

I was really disappointed that something had apparently gotten into the nest. Later the neighbor came over and said, "Have you seen the babies?" I said, "No, I thought something got into them." "No," she said, "we watched them during lunch. They are skittering around. . . all four of them!"


So I had to do some research on this one. Little did I know, but Killdeer babies are exact miniatures of their parents and can hop up and walk around after they have hatched and dried off completely. Wow! Did you know that? I didn't. I took some pix. Sadly, we saw four the first day, 3 the next, and by the time we left, only 2. Don't know what happened. Supposed they could be off on their own. Hope so.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Land O'Goshen

We arrived back at the house on Thursday after Terry's second cardiology appointment. He is doing well, although he has some strict orders to get with the program as far as his diet is concerned. Not surprised. His favorite food is hot dogs and he just cannot have them.

I am where I can finally upload some pictures, so I will be doing that. I considered just bunching them all together here, but then decided it would be better to have them with the text on the days we experienced it. Check back as I will be posting them as I get time.

Today I spent the morning cleaning out the Tracker. It is officially for sale and I have pictures posted on the web. If you know anyone looking for a good reliable Toad all set up to pull behind your motorhome, let me know and I will send them an invitation to view the pix. It is over 100 degrees here with the heat index (I almost said wind chill) and it is truly miserable being outside. I also did the trimming with the push mower which was not fun in the sun, but the yard is done and it needed it.

I got some bad news about my one tooth yesterday. You remember I had a root canal, 2 crowns and an extraction in May. The root canal tooth has continued to bother me since the crown was placed. I saw the endodontist yesterday and he took xrays but couldn't find anything wrong with it. He said, however, the protocol is to retreat the tooth, i.e., re-do the root canal. He said I didn't have it have it done now, but I am going August 9. Decided not to wait. Don't want to start having trouble 6 months down the road. He will retreat it for free of course, so decided just to give it a try. Hate to have it done, but the root canal was not as bad as my last crown prep, so hopefully it will go smoothly. Since it is hurting, there has to be something there. He did give me more antibiotics in the interim. We'll see what that does.

Well, Terry wants to go to Menard's. I don't want to go as it is my least favorite place to go (right up there with Lowe's), but I may drive him over. He is hot and tired and don't really want him going alone.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Leaving St. Paris

Today we left St. Paris, Ohio, and Camp Pull-Tab where we have camped for the past two days. It was great to see Tab and Deanna once again and we hope we persuaded them to attend the pre-Escapade gathering at the fairgrounds in Celina in September. It just wouldn't be a class campout without them. They took us out to eat at Young's Dairy Bar the other night for some burgers and mighty fine ice cream.

We traveled across US 36 today and are back in our old stompin' grounds at Summit Lake State Park. We are here for just one night and then on to the Indianapolis KOA for 2 nights while Terry checks in with his primary cardiologist.

We aren't staying back at the S & H Campground where we were last week. Talk about a pit. They have mostly seasonals and we have no problem with that, but when they let the trailers rot right down to the ground, it really makes for a bad and dirty atmosphere. The overnighters are taken on a road trip up a hill and into the wet open area where little grading has been done and virtually no upkeep of the grass, etc. A constant parade of golf carts come by to gawk at us and their kids ran all over through the sites, etc. Getting out was a bit scarey as the roads were very narrow, and dropped off to ditches and ponds and with trees overhead. We don't plan on going back there at all. The KOA is way overpriced, so we are only staying as long as we have to and that's it.

We are headed into the dogs' vet in a few minutes. They have a routine visit planned and this is a good time since Neal had a seizure last night. Another this morning and another later in the morning. The last two were extremely mild and basically just some tremors. I am giving him honey after the seizures and it sure helps him come out of them.

Till next time. . .

Dale

St. Elmo's Fire

That has to be the name of the cocktail sauce they serve with their shrimp. We just got back from St. Elmo's Steakhouse in downtown Indianapolis. Terry took me there for my birthday today. Woohoo! He had been there numerous times on business, but I had never been. He had promised me all year he would take me there since I like steak and have a hard time finding a good one. Turns out this is "restaurant week" in Indianapolis and the higher class restaurants are all offering a particular menu for $30. We got a 7 oz. filet, shrimp cocktail, fresh bread, redskinned mashed potatoes, steamed fresh vegetables and either creme brulee or cheesecake. The entire meal was delicious and expensive, but we don't do this often. And the waiter lit a birthday candle in my dessert for me. Hah. Thank you, Love.

Terry saw his one cardiologist today and I am glad to report that everything is very, very good. They were happy with his condition and then the good doctor talked with us about RVing. So we had a very good day and tomorrow we are going to check out some computer stores. Terry accidentally dropped his laptop on the steps of the motorhome and the DVD drive popped out and was really mangled. It really wasn't his fault. He put it up on the dash on a cushion and he was driving the motorhome behind the Gator that the park attendant was driving, directing us to our site. The Gator popped out of gear and stopped and Terry had to hit the brakes on Phaeton Place and down went the computer. He's pretty ticked because of that and because this place is supposed to be "big rig friendly" and it's not. There ought to be a law.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Back there again. . . in Indiana!

We are back there (not home, for home is South Dakota) in Indiana. We are in Oaktown at the New Vision RV Park on US41 just north of Vincennes. We were here about 6 weeks ago on our way south. It is a comfortable park, Passport America, $12.21 for the night with full hookups. We may stay 2 nights, as we just have to mosey on over to Indianapolis by Tuesday.

I drove today all the way from Boomtown and there wasn't much traffic. We took to the red roads today (Terry likes to do that when I am driving). The interstate was a little bumpy and the state highways were pretty good. The heat is really a factor in our comfort if we step out of the coach, so we spend most of our time inside with the dogs. They only like to go out to do their job, then it's back in. That's okay, though.

Today we got here in time to catch the Nascar race and it just finished. Looks like another evening of movies inside since we don't want to go out. I thought it would be nice to look around Vincennes, as there are some historical sites, but probably won't do it this time.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Boomtown!

We are in Boomland, aka Boomtown, near Charleston, Missouri, close to the Illinois line. We came up here yesterday from Memphis and planned to stay for 2 nights. Anyone passing through here needs to know about the Boomland campground. It is down the frontage road in front of the huge store (they sell fireworks, hence the name Boomland) and costs $12 for full hookups. It is the honor system. You put your money in an envelope and drop it in the box. The campground is grassy with gravel sites and roads. Not real fancy, but plenty of space to get in and out even with Phaeton Place at 40 feet. We did have to unhook the toad, as the site isn't real long, but we planned to anyway.

Today we left to go have a late lunch at Lambert's, in Sikeston. They are the "Home of Throwed Rolls." Thanks to the 10 million people already there and waiting outside for a seat, we didn't stop. Five buses were in the parking lot. Grrrrr. So we went on down the road and ate at an authentic Mexican restaurant, and it was very, very good. We ate very well and probably didn't overload like we would have at Lambert's. There are 3 Lamberts--one in Sikeston, one in Ozark , Missouri, near Branson, and the third in Foley, Alabama.

This morning I decided to trim the dogs. They were so "hairy" and since poor Neal spends more time on the ground than not, he was really dirty. Got him trim really short and I believe he is really happy. Got Bailey trimmed up pretty good before he started balking. The trimmers were heating up and he didn't like them on his hide. After getting trimmed, they got baths and I am now washing their blankies. They are smelling fine now!

I think we are going to be leaving in the morning, although we haven't decided exactly where we are going.

Till next time. . .

Dale