What a great week!

We had a really nice week in Charlottesville, spending time with Tom and Jocelyn. We spent more time with her since Tom was working during the day, but we managed to have a great visit. Jocelyn and I took one afternoon and tried to find some really good fall colors.
We saw some that were quite spectacular, but not easy to photograph. We went on both the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park.
It is so easy to see why people love living here. The mountains are beautiful, rain or shine, but thankfully we had good sunny days. It has been cold, however, and we are quite anxious to get further south and into warmer weather. Last evening the kids came out to the motorhome for supper and brought Jericho, their standard poodle. Bailey immediately tried to nail him, so we put Bailey in the hall behind the gate. He really was quite happy there and could see us. When I eventually took down the gate, he stayed right where he was. Jericho and Neal got along fine, so we enjoyed an evening of food and fun.

We left Misty Mountain this morning and drove to Wytheville, Virginia, for the night. It was raining when we left and has steadily downpoured since arriving. There are some factory stores nearby, but I am not even interested in unhooking and driving over. Don't care much for shopping outside in the rain. We will leave here tomorrow and go to the Escapees park in Heiskell, Tennessee, for three days. Then on to Knoxville for the chassis service. We had planned on going to Gaffney, SC, for that, but when Terry called, they were booked up. So Terry checked around and found the service center in Knoxville and they had time to do the coach. From there it's on to Red Bay, Alabama, and get this slide fixed. It broke again on Terry and he had to fix it, but it is definitely out of time or something. Just a dreary day here, but we are doing fine.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Eat Your Heart Out Mickey!

We kidnapped Jocelyn yesterday to go up into the mountains and take some pictures of scenery. But it was hazy, lots of clouds and an ill wind blowing, so didn’t get that done. We came back towards the camp through Nellie’s Ford, Virginia, and stopped at the Blue Ridge Pig.
The Pig is a world renowned restaurant that serves BBQ. Terry had the tenderloin sandwich and I had the smoked turkey. The owner has a shed out back where he smokes all the meat and it is chunks of deliciously smoked, tender, juicy meat . . . not that chopped, pressed and formed crap. The “Pig” is . . . shall we say. . . rustic. It is quite the dive, but the food is so very good.




We came back to the motorhome and began experiencing in earnest, the electrical problems we had had the day before when we first got here. The surge protector kept shutting down the power. It was happening constantly. . . just coming on for 15 seconds or so before shutting off. They came and changed the breaker. When that didn’t work, they told us to move and gave us our choice of 2 other sites open till we planned to leave. They were really nicer sites than the one we were on, but ugh. . . who likes to move when you have set up camp for a week. And our slide had broken again when we put it out, so that had to be fixed. It was cold, but Terry got under there and got it fixed and we did, indeed, move. I’m glad we did because we haven’t had one bit of problem with the power since we got on this site. We have the dogs pen set up right outside the door. At the other site, we had to set it clear in back because the site was sloped and Neal couldn’t stand up and also there was a mud pit right outside our door.

Today we went into town to do a little shopping, but didn’t find what we wanted. The kids are coming out here tonight for supper. We are having cheese lasagna, salad, homemade bread, and baked apples for dessert. Yummy umm.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Charlottesville 2006!

We arrived at Misty Mountain Campground around noon today. Spent last night in a campground in Clifton Forge, Virginia. We were under trees and had no satellite tv or internet. We were really under a canopy. Today, however, we are in one of the open sites at Misty Mountain, and everything is working.

Daughter Jocelyn and husband Tom came out to see us and spent a couple hours visiting. Tomorrow we will go into town and get Jocelyn and go see some colors and visit an orchard to get some apples. Tom will have to work, of course, so he won't mind if we keep Jocelyn occupied. They are both doing very well and it was so good to see them. They really seem excited about the baby due in April.

We have seen so many colors since getting into West Virginia and Virginia. In some areas, there are no reds, just mainly yellows and oranges.
As we got further into Virginia, many more reds were added and it just seems to add fire to the landscape. The mountains have been incredibly gorgeous and while I plan on getting much better pictures up on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I took a few out the windows of Phaeton Place to tempt you with.


Till next time. . .

Dale

Got outta' Dodge

Well, we finally left. . . actually we left twice. Terry forgot his phone. . . had left it on the seat of the truck. We were in Middlebury, discussed unhooking the toad, but decided to just flip and go back. Our apartment manager said if we forgot anything else, just let him know and he would run us down. Hah.

We had our meeting this morning about Terry's medicare stuff and think we have a handle on that. We left the last time at 2:30 and arrived at our campground at 5:30. Didn't get too far, but it's been a long week and we just wanted to get a ways down the road.

Our Datastorm seems to be working really well, thanks to Elkhart Satellite Systems. They are very good and know what they are doing, so if anyone out there wants one and can get to Elkhart, I highly recommend them. They have been selling and installing satellite systems, both commerical and residential for 30 years. Brian, our tech and the owner's son, has installed over 200 Datastorms.

Things are pretty quiet now. . . Bailey has strewn his toys all over the living room floor and has now crashed on his cushion. Neal just collapsed after having investigated every speck of dirt/food/etc., on the floor and is convinced there is nothing there to eat.

We will drive a good day tomorrow to get close to Virginia or maybe inside the state.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Rollin', rollin', rollin'. . . get them doggies rollin'

Well, looks like we may get to leave. The apartment is rented. Yay! Life is good. Yesterday was a round trip to Indianapolis via New Castle where we took the dogs. Neal had to have a shot and they stayed there in doggie day care while we did the Indianapolis cardiologists' thing-y. We are good for another 6 months, so we headed back to New Castle to get the dogs and then on to Goshen. Left at 6:30 a.m. and returned at 10:00 p.m. Didn't stop and dilly-dally for anything, just drove.

Today is laundry day, packing day, close up the house day, etc. We are not staying here next year when we come by Goshen. There is work to be done, so we are going to be at the Elkhart Campground from Rally time (end of April) until the work is done on the house. Have a new floor to put in, paint, new appliances, etc. The house has been neglected while we got the apartments upgraded, so now it is time for the house. Have apartment maintenance then. . . window painting, etc. Trying to decide if we want to keep it all or start selling it off. I think Terry likes tinkering with things, but he cannot do anything too heavy.

Tomorrow we meet with the Council on Aging :-) to get Terry's insurance stuff all straightened out. Once that meeting is over, we are history and headed for Charlottesville, Virginia, to see Jocelyn and Tom. . . then points south (of I-10).

Till next time. . .

Dale

WE'RE STILL HERE!!!!!!!

And it's raining. . . Mistress of Distress here. If we stay any longer, we're going to have to buy Halloween candy for the trick or treaters. Ugh.

The apartment is still not rented. Had an application today, but they didn't check out too good, so we are still looking. I'm confident we will get someone in there.

Now Terry just came in and told me that the dash lights and turn signals on the truck are not working right. We had it in the shop for two days last week fixing the brake lights. I guess the Chevy garage in Goshen thinks that you trade off one for the other. Sheesh. You cannot pay people to do the right job anymore. We will have to get it fixed because our manager uses it to plow snow.

In other news, we have decided to drive down and back to Indy on Wednesday for Terry's final doctor appointments. We have to go through New Castle first and drop off the dogs for day care. Neal needs a booster shot, so we have to take them. They will board them for the day while we are in Indy, then we will run back by there and pick them up before heading back up here.

First stop when we leave here (whenever that is) is Charlottesville, Virginia, to see Jocelyn and Tom. We cannot go in there on the weekend anyway because the campgrounds are full on the weekends. We won't have trouble getting a site Monday through Thursday.

Till next time. . .

Dale

PS: Anybody want to buy some apartments?

Will it never end???????????????

I just cannot believe this. One year after saying I would only see snow on TV, I am taking pictures of it out the front door.


Get me outta' here!!!!!!!!!!!!

Till next time. . .

Dale

AAAAACCCCCKKKKKK!

I guess you can tell by the picture that I am in a total state of distress!

Time marches on. . . .

Well, we thought we had the apartment rented. The couple came to sign the lease today. I think they will be great. . . if they end up signing. She is currently renting and the landlord has threatened to hold her to her lease. She really cannot do what she says, but that doesn't mean she can't make life miserable for our prospective tenant. So we advised her to resolve that situation before signing our lease.

Tomorrow we are headed to central Indiana to pick up our enclosed trailer. Sister and husband are going to be moving this winter into their house and the trailer will be a big asset to them. It has a ramp in the back and will make hauling big heavy things easier and will keep everything dry as well. It will take a minimum of 8 hours down and back.

We had our satellite worked on again today and I think it is working better. We had to hire a dealer/installer to fix the errors that were made initially. I hope it is working now. It seems to be, but time will tell.

We are leaving Tuesday next week for points east and south. That is, if the apartment is rented.

I think I can now brag about my very special news and that is that Terry and I are going to be grandparents! This is a first for us. Our daughter Jocelyn and her husband Tom are adding a family addition in April. Hope all goes well with the pregnancy and we have a fine healthy grandbaby!

Till next time. . .

Dale

We gotta' get outta this place. . . . .

Man, what a week. I think I am finally getting better. Not that I was bad. . . but.

First off, soft water at the house here burns my skin. Terry has now decided to bypass the water softener (installed for the back apartment tenant). Then my back is killing me so today we are swapping out the mattress for the air bed in the closet. But the worst of the problems is that due to the COLD air, MOLD from leaves, and generally yucky weather I apparently picked up an ear problem which gave me vertigo. Ah, yes, vertigo, my friend. Problem is, it took about 4 days for me to put two and two together, so I decided to start the meds for vertigo. Now Terry doesn't like me to do that, because I am gone then for about 2 days. That stuff will knock you on your fanny, but it does work. So yesterday that's what I did. I think today, I am feeling human again. I will try to avoid taking the meds until bedtime, so that way it should help, but I should be quasi-normal for the day.

We've had a lot of rain and we saw this from the front porch the other day.



Our apartment may be rented. We are still mulling it over. No perfect candidates, but some not-so-perfect that might work. The satellite guy is to be here today or tomorrow to change out the antenna on the roof of Phaeton Place and see if that helps the connection problem.

Friday I am going to go to Mom and Dad's and help them move the last of their stuff out of their mobile home. It has been sold, they are on their way to Texas, and their new trailer is on the lot in Jim and Nita's woods awaiting their arrival next spring. Life is good. Here is a picture of the house.


We are waiting to get this apartment rented, then heading out no later than the 17th for doctor's appointments south, then heading somewhere. Supposed to be Red Bay, now he's talking Kerrville, Texas. Don't know what the boy has on this mind. Well I do, but . . .

Till next time. . .

Dale

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