Finally, CLT's Problem and Hurricane Sandy

Virginia Beach, VA.

58 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 75F. Winds from the NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Well, Jim finally took photos of Joe and his family and got them downloaded onto this computer. So, I'm finally able to post them here so you can see who I've been talking about for the past week. : )

This first one is, of course, Joe, LInda's son.

Nancy, Joe's wife and our body building family member.

This is Sami, (Samantha), Joe and Nancy's oldest daughter,

And Amber, Joe and Nancy's youngest daughter.

 Tuesday, Linda called Walgreen's and was told that the rest of her medications were there, so she and Jim took CLT and headed over there and picked them up.

CLT (Cute Little Truck),  hadn't said anything, but come to find out, he's been having a problem with his brakes!! Jim caught it when he noticed a noise coming from CLT's left front wheel and was pretty sure that it was the brake pad wear indicator. I didn't realize it, but Jim said that he thought he had heard something over a week ago when we were in Apex, visiting Mike and his family.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  what to do?

Well, when Jim and Linda went over to Joe and Nancy's for dinner, Jim asked Joe if he had any recommendations of a place to get them checked out. Joe said that his friend Ray, (who Jim and Linda know), was now doing repair work on cars, and he would call him and see if he had time to look at CLT.

Well, to make a long story a little shorter, Ray said that he had time and would be glad to check CLT out. And, he could do it Wednesday afternoon!! So, soon after noon yesterday, Ray came over here, picked up CLT, took him back to his place, repaired both the front and rear brakes, and had CLT back here in time for Jim and Linda to head over to Joe and Nancy's for dinner again. : )

Talk about service!!!! : )

CLT says that his brakes haven't felt that good for quite some time now, and says that now, he'll be able to do a better job of helping me stop when we're traveling. : )

Today, the plan is for Joe and Nancy to come here for dinner. Jim also wants to do a few things outside as we're expecting quite a weather change because of Hurricane Sandy coming up along the coast.

Right now, Sandy is forecasted to stay well offshore  but you can be assured that both Jim and Linda are keeping a close eye on any changes in the forecast. In any case, we'll probably have quite a bit of rain with some wind and falling temperatures after the storm has passed.

Did you know that a lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court?

A Day Trip and Isaac Is Coming To Illinois

Rantoul, IL.

63 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny, high of 93F. Winds from the South at 5 to 10 mph.


As planned, about 8:45, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed to Wilmington, IL yesterday morning. Their Financial Advisor used to have and office in the little town that Jim and Linda used to live in, (Peotone, IL), but last fall, he moved his office to Wilmington. It really doesn't make too much difference except that from here in Rantoul, Wilmington is a little more difficult to get to and it is a little farther. (From here, they took US 136 west to IL 47, 47 up to Dwight, and then followed the Old US 66 to Wilmington.)

Jim and Linda really don't mind though, it's a nice drive through the country if you stay off of the Interstates and he has done a very good job of advising them on their investments. Especially through these last years of tough economic times.

It was right at 10:30 when Jim and Linda got there, so they had to wait about 1/2 an hour because their appointment wasn't until 11:00.

After the meeting, Jim and Linda were hungry, so they asked Dean, (their investor), where there was a good place to eat. He said that one of the best was right across the street at a family restaurant called Chick-A-Dee. Well, they went over there and ate and when Jim asked for the check, the waitress told him that the bill was taken care of by Dean!!!!

Wow!!! What a pleasant surprise!!! Thanks Dean!!! : )

From Wilmington, they followed the Kankakee River to Kankakee, (a very pleasant drive.),  and then took I-57 back down here to Rantoul. It was after 3:00 by the time they returned.

Well, I hope I didn't bore you too much with this post, but Jim and Linda may want to look back on this post to plan the trip from here up to Wilmington in the future.

It doesn't look like we're going to have very good weather for the Labor Day Holiday. The remnants of Hurricane Isaac are heading this way and they're forecasting rain, starting tomorrow night and lasting through Sunday, with total rainfall anywhere between 3 to 6 inches!!!!  : O

As of yesterday evening, Louise has already had 4 cancellations of RV sites here at the CG and she's expecting there will be more. : (

Did you know that in 1887, Oregon was the first state to make Labor Day a holiday?

A Few Pictures Of The Tractor Ride and Hurricane Irene

Rantoul, IL

64 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 80s. North winds 10 to 15 mph.

Here's some pictures that Jim took of that "Tractor Ride" that they had the other day. I don't know the make of all the tractors but maybe you can figure it out if you click on the picture to enlarge it.

This one I know is an old John Deer.

Have no idea who made this blue tractor.

This is just a picture of a bunch of tractors heading down the road. I would guesstimate that there were about 75 tractors that passed by the CG.

As you can see, this guy took parts of an old truck and mounted them on a tractor. (Looked pretty neat). : )

Can't tell what kind of tractor this is? (Maybe a ford)?

This is a Minneapolis Moline and it looked just like new.

There were many, many more tractors, but this gives you an idea of what it was like watching them go by.

Hopefully Jim will be able to get some pictures of the "field demonstrations" that they will be having today in the fields right next to the CG. If he takes some I'll post some of them here, so stay tuned! ; )

I'm happy to report that hurricane Irene has now been downgraded to a category 1 as it heads directly towards Virginia Beach where Joe and his family live. As of this morning the winds have dropped down into the 90 mph range which is much better than what they were.

Needless to say, both Linda and Jim are very concerned about the situation out there. : (

Did you know that the first gasoline farm tractors were introduced in 1910?

Before and After and More To Come

Rantoul. IL.

61 Deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. Light north winds.


As promised, here are some pictures that Jim took here at the Campground. The first ones were taken this last weekend before any of the RVs started coming in for the Farm Show.

The main road in the CG.

Sites across the street from where I'm parked.

This is the street that runs along the West side of the CG and is behind me.

Another picture of that street.

The next pictures show what it is like here in the CG now, and when these were taken yesterday morning, there were still 30 more RVs scheduled to come into the park.

Sites across the road from me. Notice that the 5th wheels are parked back to back. One is hooked up to the 50amp circuit and the other one to the 30 amp circuit. A "Y" adapter is used on the water faucet and they take turns using the sewer connection.

More RV packed in. These are also 2 to a site but are parked side by side facing opposite directions.

These trailers parked behind these 5th wheels were used to bring golf carts and ATVs to the park.

Remember that empty street running along the West side of the CG? These RVs are all dry camping.

More dry camping

We even have a few tenters.

Looking down the main street of the CG

If you don't have a pick-up to haul your truck camper, Just load it on a flat-bed truck and come anyway. ; )

Speaking of RVs, there are all kinds here. All the way from Prevost Buses to pop-up campers to the tents.

Some of them are brand new but there are also older RVs like this classic Airstream MH.

The tractors that were in the "Tractor Ride" all went past here yesterday morning and Jim took some pictures of them as they passed by. I'll try to post some of them here tomorrow.

Oh, Linda called Joe in Virginia Beach last night. She wanted to talk to him before Irene hits the area. They've already got the windows boarded up and have put everything outside away.They're in the process of stocking up on water, food, extra batteries and all of the other stuff recommended. As of right now, the storm is fore-casted to pass right over Virginia Beach.

We're all hoping that the storm will turn and head out to sea before it gets up there.

Did you know that it was 1844 before the first mowing machine was patented?