They're Gone and Jim's Appointment

Rantoul, IL.

59 deg. clear, SE wind @ 3 mph.

Forecast = Sunny. Highs in the lower 90s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.

They're Gone!!!! : (  Yep, the "Illinois Bunch" packed up and left yesterday morning. : (

Denny came over and talked to Jim for awhile yesterday morning. Then, went back over to his site and started packing up for the return trip home. Dave was also packing up and before long, was ready to head back to his house.

Jim and Linda went over there and talked to Denny and Bev and Dave and Dee Dee for awhile, but soon it was time for h and h. (hugs and handshakes) 

It sure was good to see them again, but this visit seemed  way too short!! I sure hope I'll get to see them again when we're down in Florida this winter.

By the time they left, it was about lunch time, so Jim and Linda came back here and ate a little. After eating, Jim laid down and tried to take a nap, but couldn't go to sleep. (He was probably thinking about his eye doctor appointment that he had for later in the afternoon).

So, after getting ready, he and Linda took CLT and headed down to Savoy, (which is just a little South of Champaign), and to his eye doctor.

Jim has Glaucoma and this was his first visit back to the eye doctor since it was discovered last year. He's been putting drops in his eyes every day, but really didn't know if they were helping or not, so he was kind of nervous about going back.

Well, everything seems to be OK. ; )  He needs to have one more test done before we leave here, but his doctor said that the pressure in the eyes is down and the medication seems to be working.  In fact unless this retina scan thing that he still needs to have done shows some abnormality, he's good to go for another year!!! : )

Of course he'll still need to continue to use the drops every day.

By the time he was done at the eye doctor, it was dinner time, so CLT took them to an Applebee's Restaurant which is near the doctors office.

After they returned here to the park, Jim took a little nap and then he and Linda watched TV until bedtime.


Did you know that Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world, according to the World Health Organization? And also, did you know that It is estimated that over 2.2 million Americans have glaucoma but only half of those know they have it?

The "Eyes" Have It

Rantoul, IL.

55 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Light southeast winds.


What do the "Eyes" have?  They have a good report!!!!!  : )

Jim and Linda took CLT, (Cute Little Truck), and headed down to Linda's retinologist a little after noon yesterday. Again, even though she hadn't noticed any problems, she was very anxious about going. Well, as it turned out, everything is fine and she won't have to be going back for another year. (Unless she notices some changes in her vision.)  

Great news!!!! : )

Of course to check her eyes, they had to dilate them. So, when she came back here to the CG, she was still wearing her "movie star" glasses. ; ) 

Not much else happen around here yesterday. Jim did go over and talk to Louise in the morning to make sure that there were sites available for the 2/3 of the "Illinois Bunch" that will be coming tomorrow. I don't know for sure which sites they'll have but hopefully they'll be pretty close to me.

Today, Jim and Linda need to go and pick up their mail at the Post Office and a few things at the grocery store. I also need a little cleaning inside of me so I'm presentable.

A Point to Ponder : Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

Another Test

Rantoul, IL.

66 deg. clear, SE wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a chance of a thunderstorm and a chance of rain in the morning, then partly cloudy with thunderstorms and rain showers. High of 91F. Winds from the SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.


Didn't post the last few days because there hasn't been anything newsworthy happening around here. : (  Yesterday, however, Lind had to go and get another blood test. It seems that there was a problem with one of the results on the previous test and her doctor wanted her to get another one, just to make sure everything was OK.

Linda really didn't want to get another test because in the past, there has been problems with the results of this particular test, and it has always proven to be OK. But, the doctor insisted, so she and Jim took CLT and headed down to Champaign and to a Quest Diagnostics Center to have the blood drawn and the test preformed.

Because Linda has to fast before having the test, she didn't have any breakfast, so they stopped at a Bob Evans Restaurant on the way back here. : )  After lunch, CLT took Jim over to the CVS Drugstore to pick up a few items and then to the County Market Grocery Store to pick up a few more things.

There's nothing scheduled for today, but tomorrow, Linda has to go see her retinologist for her annual eye check-up. She hasn't noticed any change in her vision, so she isn't expecting any problems.

A Point to Ponder:  The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.

Doctor's Appointment and A Suprise Visit

Rantoul, IL.

68 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s. Light east winds becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.


Yesterday was the day that Linda had to go to see her doctor in Fisher, IL., for her annual check-up and to get her prescriptions renewed. She always gets very anxious just before she goes to the doctor but everything went well and unless there's a problem with the results of the blood test that they took, it looks like she's "Good to Go" for another year!!! : )

Because of the blood test, Linda couldn't eat anything in the morning, so from the doctor's office they headed over to the Village Garden Restaurant, (also in Fisher), and had a very nice breakfast. ; )

While they were eating, the phone rang and it was Dave, (One of the "Illinois Bunch"). He and Dee Dee were out and about and wanted to know if it would be OK if they stopped by for awhile, in about an hour and a half? Jim told Dave that would be fine and that he and Lind were looking forward to seeing them.

So, after finishing their breakfasts, Jim and Linda headed back here to make the inside of me presentable. : )

I think if was around noon when Dave and Dee Dee pulled up in the parking area in front of me. After h and h, (hugs and handshakes), they came inside of me and had a very nice visit.

It sure was good to see them again, but all too soon, they had to leave. : (  But, I'm hoping that I'll be seeing them again real soon. Hopefully the whole "Illinois Bunch" can make it here to the CG for a get-together, sometime before we leave.

Speaking about leaving, Jim has been doing some planning and it looks like we'll need to leave here around the 20th of September so that we can head East to to see Mike and Joe and their families, (with stops along the way to see a couple of Linda's cousins and Roland and Louise),  Anna who is now living in Jacksonville, FL. and get down to DeBary, FL. in time to get a decent site at the Highbanks CG for the winter.

Whew!!!! Looks like I'll be putting on quite a few more miles before the end of the year!!! ; )

After Dave and Dee Dee left not a whole lot happened. We had some t-storms go through the area, but here at he CG we only had about 96 drops of rain. : (   Most of the rest of the day was spent watching TV, and doing normal things.

Did you know that American, Eddie Eagan is the only person to have won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Games? He was a boxing champion in the 1920 Antwerp Games, and also won gold at the 1932 Lake Placid Games in the team bobsled event.

A Little Ride, Rosie and A Test

Rantoul, IL.

64 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = High temp. 98 deg. partly cloudy, S. wind @ 6 mph.

Jim took a bike ride early yesterday morning. He'll probably take one early this morning too,  so that he can get his ride in before it gets too hot.

Being that it was so warm, Jim stayed inside most of the day, (after about 11:00), and read blogs, watched TV and played around with the new GPS. He's now in the process of entering all the addresses into the new GPS, that he had saved in the old one.

Oh, I found out one interesting bit of information!  I found out that the lady who lives inside of the new GPS is named Rosie!! Rosie seems pretty nice and I'm sure she'll try to guide us to our destinations the best that she can. ; )

Linda called and made an appointment with her regular doctor yesterday. If everything goes well, all of the doctor's appointments will be taken care of during August and then we can leave here anytime we want to in September.

For dinner, Jim and Linda decided to head down to the Steak n' Shake Restaurant in Urbana. Even though they know how to get there, Jim decided to test Rosie and see if she could find the way. CLT said that she did a fine job and led them right to the restaurant and then right back here again. : )

Way to go, Rosie!!!!!  : )

After they came back from the restaurant, the evening was spent watching the Olympic games on TV.

Did you know that the first time the teams and competitors were representatives of countries and not of clubs or just individuals was in 1908?

Olympic Games

Rantoul, IL.

65 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny. Highs in the lower 90s. Light northeast winds.

How about those Olympic Games????? Have you been watching them on TV?  I thought they were great last night!!!!!

We actually had a little rain yesterday. There were 2 "cells" that went through this area and both of them brought some rain.

I don't know how much we had, (probably less than 1/4 inch), but I think the grass looks a little greener this morning. : )

Not much going on around here. It was pretty hot outside again but Jim was out and about some in the morning and then pretty much stayed inside during the rest of the day, surfing the Internet and playing with the new GPS unit. Linda has been working on entering data into her family tree program and of course both she and Jim have been watching the Olympics.

Oh, Linda called and made Eye Doctor appointments for both herself and Jim yesterday. Nothing wrong, just their annual check-ups. Today, I think she's going to call to set up an appointment with her regular doctor.

I don't think there's anything planned for today. There's not much going on here in the Campground during the week. Maybe there'll be something going on this weekend.

Did you know that at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, silver medals were awarded to the winners and bronze to those who came in second place?

Canceling the Appointment At SMI and Indiana To Tennessee

Clarksville, TN,

55 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Decreasing clouds. Scattered showers. Highs around 70. North winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Jim did call and tell Kyle at SMI that he didn't feel comfortable trying to get me into their parking lot. Kyle said that he understood, but was sure that they could get me in and out of the lot. Well, Jim didn't want to take the chance, so he made arrangements to go over there and purchase a kit.

By this time, Linda was up and ready, so she and Jim took CLT and headed over there. By a little after 10:00 they were back from SMI, CLT was hooked to the back of me, and we were pulling out of the Fairgrounds.

From the Fairgrounds, we headed North on US 41 for a few miles where we tuned East on I-64. 64 took us over to I-164 where we tuned South and followed it around Evansville until we came back to US-41. Going South on 41 took us across the Ohio River and into Kentucky where we got onto the Pennyrile Parkway and followed it all the way down to I-24. Turning SE on 24 took us into Tennessee and here to the Clarksville RV Pk, in Clarksville. It was about 12:25 when we pulled up to the stop sign in the park, so it took us about 2 hours and 15 minutes to travel just about 130 miles.

The Clarksville RV Pk is pretty nice but kind of expensive. Jim and Linda have stayed here before because it's convenient but think it's overpriced for what you get.

Jim hadn't slept very well the night before, so as soon as he had me hooked up to the utilities, he and Linda both took naps. : )

Today, we'll be heading down into Alabama. Jim found a couple CGs down there that will work and are reasonably priced.

Oh, and I want to thank Eric and the other followers who have either e-mailed Jim or left a comment on this blog. Your suggestions of what may be wrong with my slide may be correct, but since I have some other issues, we're going to go on down to Florida to have them all addressed. Then, hopefully we can have a nice relaxing trip up to NC and VA to see Jim and Linda's kids and grand kids. : )

Did you know that Tennessee has more than 3,800 documented caves?

Good To Go!!!

Rantoul, IL.

54 deg. overcast NE wind @ 7 mph.

Forecast = Mostly sunny. Highs around 70. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

About 8:15 yesterday morning, Jim remembered that he had forgotten to get CLT and drink of 87 octane, so he took him and headed to the nearest station, which happens to be a Casey's. By the time they came back here, Linda was ready so they headed down to the little town of Savoy, (which is just South of  Champaign), to Jim's 9:30 eye doctor appointment.

CLT says that they got there with a little time to spare.

Again, they checked his vision and eye pressures and then put some drops in his eyes to dilate the pupils so the eye doctor could look in his eyes to see if there was anything wrong.

Well, she couldn't find anything seriously wrong, so she told Jim to keep on putting the drops in that she had prescribed and that he was "good to go" until next summer when we return to Illinois. : )

Good News!!!!!! : )

On the way back here to the CG, they stopped at the Urbana Gardens Restaurant and had breakfast for lunch. When they got back here, Jim took a nap as his eyes were still bothering him from being dilated. While Jim was sleeping, Linda worked with her family tree program and took a little nap herself. ; ) 

After Jim woke up, he went outside and checked my engine fluid levels, re-installed the tow bar on the front of CLT and checked my generator. While he was doing that, Linda washed a load of laundry and then worked on the computer some more.

Unless there's a glitch, we'll be leaving here Monday morning and start wandering our way towards the East Coast. : )

Oh, It doesn't sound like I'm going to get to meet Judy and her RV. : (  The place where they towed her MH to in Illinois, can't seem to fix it so now they're going to tow it back to Indiana!! She was in Indiana when all if this started, I'm wondering why they didn't tow it to a repair facility there in the first place?

You can click on this link to view her blog, Travels with Emma . If you have time, add a comment to her blog to let her know that we're all hoping she'll kick that "Murphy" guy in the "you know where", and get back on the road real soon. ; )

Did you know that light colored eyes dilate faster than dark colored eyes?

The New Computer and Jim's Appointment

Rantoul, IL.

48 deg. clear, NE wind @ 6 mph.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 60s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.

It was about 10:30 by the time Greg arrived with Jim and Linda's new desktop computer. The setup went pretty smoothly but there was a couple little glitches. You see, the way the desk is set up, (being fastened to the wall), you have to run the cables around the end to get them up to the monitor. Well the cable wasn't long enough, so he had to get a longer one out of his car.

This new computer also has a wi-fi card with an antenna attached to it. The cable going to the antenna is only about 3 feet long so it's too short to allow the antenna to be up in front of the window, where the reception should be much better.  Greg didn't have an extension for this cable, so as of right now, the antenna is sitting under the desk, until he brings one.

The computer seems to be working well. It's picking up the CG's wi-fi, Linda can use her Family Tree program, and in fact, has already started entering information that she got from Jim's cousin Adeline, when they visited her a few weeks ago. : )  Of course the new computer has Window's 7 installed on it and Jim is having a little trouble getting it to do what he wants, but I'm sure he'll get it figured out.

This morning, Jim has an appointment to go back to the eye doctor. I can tell he's not looking forward to going, but like some of my followers have said, "the eyes are nothing to fool around with". 

If everything goes well, he and Linda should be back here before noon.

Did you know that the first online version of an encyclopedia and the first one on CD was Grolier?

Eyes, Another New Plan and The CG Is Filling Up.

Rantoul, IL.

69 deg. clear, S. wind @ 4 mph.

Forecast = Hot. Sunny. Highs in the upper 90s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.


I'll bet you thought I fell into a pothole or something, didn't you? Well, I didn't. I've been just waiting to find out what is going on with Jim's eyes.

If you remember, Jim went to the eye doctor on Tuesday and he found, by doing a scan of the back of the eye, what he thought may be some serious problems. An appointment was made with another eye doctor for yesterday, and so yesterday afternoon, Jim and Linda went to see her.

After an inspection of Jim's eyes and more tests, it was determined that there were no serious problems at this time and that what problems there were should be able to be taken care of my medication.

Whew!!!! : )

What the first doctor saw was, what looked like, damage from someone who has glaucoma, but Jim didn't have high eye pressures or any other signs of the disease. There is however, a type of glaucoma where the eye pressure does not raise significantly but the same damage occurs, only at a slower rate.

This is what the first doctor thought may be going on.

Anyway, if there is any glaucoma damage at all, it's very slight and by using medication, Jim should have good vision for many years to come. : )  Jim still has to go back for a follow-up appointment on the 16th of this month but the eye doctor said that she saw no reason why we wouldn't be able to head out of here right after that.

So, . . . . .the big eraser came out again and now, as plan "E" shows, we'll be leaving here on Monday, the 19th. A few days later than was originally planned, but still very do-able without too many changes.

What has been going on around here the last few days? Nothing!!! The temperatures have been in the upper 90's every day, there has been no activity here in the CG, and to be honest, Jim didn't feel like doing anything because he was quite worried about his eyes and what it could mean as far as his and Linda's future as far as full-timing.

Yesterday, quite a few RVs came into the CG and today there should be a lot more. Louise says that every site is booked for the Labor Day weekend. Tonight they are forecasting storms and then cooler temperatures after that. I don't like the idea of storms but I hope they're right about the cooler temps because the "Illinois Bunch" will be coming to see me next week and it would be good if the weather co-operated so everyone can enjoy being outdoors. : )

Did you know that the first big Labor Day in the United States was observed on September 5, 1882?

A Slow Morning and Eye Doctor Visits In The Afternoon

Rantoul, IL.

64 deg. mostly cloudy, SE wind @ 7 mph.

Forecast = Partly sunny with isolated showers in the morning...then mostly sunny in the afternoon. Highs around 90. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.


Not much going on around here yesterday, the CG is really quiet. Neither Jim or Linda seemed to have much ambition and I think part of the problem was that they knew they had to go to the eye doctor in the afternoon.

I don't know what it is about appointments in the afternoon, but it seems like you don't want to get started doing anything because you know you'll have to quit what you are doing to go to the appointment. If the appointment is in the morning, you can go, get it over with and do what you want to do without having to stop in the middle of something.

Well, anyway, about 2:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed down to Champaign to see the retinaologist.
CLT said that there was all kinds of construction on I-57 and he was almost late getting them there. Once there, it didn't take too long until they were being examined.

The examinations consisted of a scan of the retina and a complete check of the eyes. I'm happy to report that Linda's eyes are doing fine and she's good to go for another year. : )  Jim, however, has some problems. : (  In fact, the doctor wants him to see another eye doctor before we leave here and his receptionist even called the other eye doctor and set up an appointment for this Friday.

Needless to say, Jim is not a happy camper about this. Now, he's worried that we won't be able to leave here on the 15th of September like planned. He also isn't fond of going to doctors in general, so this is adding to his apprehension.

I don't think he's going to be in a very good mood the next few days. : (

Did you know that the eye can process 36,000 bits of information every hour?

More Farm Show Pictures and Mike And Jodi Come For A Visit

Rantoul, IL.

63 deg. N. wind @ 8 mph.

Forecast - Sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. Light east winds.

They were doing field demonstrations in the field right next to the CG yesterday, so Jim walked over there a couple times and took some pictures.

These are a few of the pictures that Jim was able to get from the CG

This is an old single row picker that was picking the rows of corn right next to the fence.

A 4 row pull-behind picker

The 4 row picker going the other way and actually picking corn.

After the field was harvested it was time for the plowing demonstrations. This is a huge tractor that pulls a 15 bottom plow. Don't know how practical is actually is, but it brought a lot of attention.

Another picture of the huge tractor and it's plow.

This is the kind of tractor that Jim drove as a teen-ager when he worked out on the farms around Peotone during the summertime and after school. It's a Farmall model "M" tractor and was one of the most popular tractors in that area.

Back at the CG they were starting to load some of the tractors on trailers as this was the last day of the show and it was time to head back home or to another show. During the afternoon, I would guess that about 3/4 of the RVs here in the CG left. The show was over and it was time to head home or to their next destination.

Then, about 4:30 Mike and Jodi pulled up in front of me with their Motorcycle. You don't see too many cycles with side cars, so it was neat that they brought it here to show it to me. After they got their riding gear off, Jim brought them inside of me and gave them the "tour". They seemed to really like me and made some very nice comments. : )

After they talked for awhile, Jim fired up the grill and cooked some burgers and brats while Mike, Jodi and Linda brought the rest of the food out to the picnic table. Mike and Jodi brought some salad, and some beer and that along with chips, sweet corn and tomatoes made for a very nice meal.

After they finished eating they all came inside and talked for awhile. (The bugs were really bad outside). They hadn't seen each other for a whole year, but you would have never known it by the way the conversation picked up.

About 7:30 they had to leave because Mike had some things he needed to get done, so after h and h, (hugs and handshakes), they put on their riding gear and rode off on their Ural Motorcycle. : )

After they left, Jim and Linda were talking about how much they enjoyed having a meal and visiting with them. They're a really nice couple and I know I'm looking forward to seeing them again next year.

Oh, and guess what? Jim forgot to take any pictures of them so I looked back at last years photos and found this one of Mike and Jodi with their motorcycle. I'm pretty sure it was taken up in Michigan at the CG where Jim and Linda met them.

                                

Not a whole lot planned for today, but tomorrow morning, both Jim and Linda have an appointment with Linda's eye doctor. He has an office down  in Champaign so it won't take CLT (Cute Little Truck), too long to get them there.

Oh, Joe called from Virginia Beach. They had lots of wind and rain, but no damage and everyone is OK. When he called, the power was still out but they have a good supply of flashlights and batteries so they should be all right. Needless to say, Linda was very relieved to hear from them. : )

Thanks for calling, Joe.

Did you know that 1954 was the first year more tractors were used on farms than horses and mules?

Some Much Needed Rain, Hot Again, Lots Of RVs and Today's Plans

Rantoul, IL.

70 deg. hazy, SW wind @ 4 mph.

Forecast = Hot and humid. Mostly sunny. Scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 90s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 50 percent. Heat index readings 101 to 106.

As you can see by the forecast above, the heat is back. : (  We had almost 2" of very much needed rain yesterday and it didn't get too hot because of the cloud cover, but today is supposed to be a real scorcher.

Because of the rain, Jim and Linda didn't go out until about 3:00. Walgreen's had called and told Linda that her prescriptions were ready, (the doctor had called them in), so they headed over there to pick them up and purchase some other items.

Other than that, Jim and Linda didn't do much else. (Linda did some laundry but Jim just played with the computer and took a nap). That's not to say that it was quiet here at the park though. Bunches of RVs have been coming into the CG for the Farm Show. Many of them were pulling trailers with golf carts and ATVs on them, or there was another vehicle following the RV, either loaded with golf carts or pulling a trailer loaded with them.

At one point, there were so many RVs waiting to get checked in that they were backed all the way up out onto the road. (There had to be 7 or 8 of them).

Today, should be real crazy around here with many, many more RVs coming in because at 7:00 tomorrow morning the gates open and the fun begins. You can click here if you'd like to see the schedule for the show.

Today, Jim and Linda will take CLT and head up North to Peotone, IL. (where they used to live in a stix and brix house before they went full-timing), to see their financial advisor. They need to be up there by 10:00, so being that it's 80-some miles up there, they'll be leaving here about 8:30. Then after their meeting, they're going to stop by and visit with Jim's cousin, Adeline, who lost her husband not long ago. She lives in Manteno, IL. which is about 7 miles South of Peotone.

Jim says that he doesn't expect to be back here much before dinner time.

Did you know that America has almost one billion farmland acres?

Good To Go and The Illinois Bunch Is Coming

Rantoul, IL

66 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny with isolated showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s. Light west winds. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.


By 9:00 Jim and Linda were out of the door and on their way to her doctors appointment in Fisher, IL where the doctor has an office.

After examining Linda the doctor told her she was good to go for another year, wrote up new prescriptions and wished her safe travels. : )

From the doctor's office CLT took them to the Village Garden Restaurant, (in Fisher), where Linda and Jim had breakfast before returning back here to the CG.

The rest of the day was spent doing normal day to day living.

Oh, Jim got a phone call from the last of the Illinois Bunch. Bev had been trying to contact Jim by e-mail, but as you know, Jim's Hotmail account is not available to him. Anyway, all of the Illinois Bunch will be coming, (some on the 7th of Sept. and some on the 8th), and they will be here until the 11th.

That should be long enough for me to get to know them and their RV's!! ; )

Today, Jim and Linda are planning on going to the grocery store. I saw the grocery list and it's pretty long so it's going to be a pretty big project.

 A Point to Ponder :  If a stealth bomber crashes in a forest, will it make a sound?

Keys Made, Making Room and Doctor Appointments

Rantoul, IL

68 deg. overcast, NW wind @ 9 mph.

Forecast = Becoming partly sunny. A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

Had a few storms go through the area, just North of here yesterday afternoon and evening. This CG and the surrounding area are in desperate need of rain, but here at Prairie Pines, there was only enough to make the street slightly wet at one point and then just sprinkles at other times.

Jim finally got hold of the locksmith yesterday morning, (called him on the phone), and made an appointment to meet him at his shop at 10:45. Then, at about 10:35 he headed over there and finally got the keys made. Now, he has 2 keys for all my locks and a few spare ones that he put into one of those magnetic "key safe" boxes that he stashed it away at a hidden location on me, known only to me, him and Linda.

Now, if he should lose his keys, he and Linda will either be able to use the keys that Linda now has ot at least gain entrance to me with the hidden keys. : )

He also worked on going through some of the totes in my basement to make more room and ended up with another empty one. I now feel pretty sure that I'll be able to handle the remaining totes and boxes that are still over in the storage room in the bath house here at the park.

Oh, speaking of that, Jim says that as soon as Paul and Louise have time, he wants to get all of that stuff out of there and bring it over here. He says it either has to fit in me or he and Linda will have to get rid of some of it.

Linda called her doctors yesterday and made appointments to go see them. She has to go get a blood test tomorrow morning and then in a week or two will see her regular doctor after she gets the test results. Then, on the 30th of Aug she and Jim both have appointments with Linda's eye doctor/retinologist. Linda will be going for her yearly check-up and Jim will be going back to see him so he can check on a problem he has had with one of his eyes. Jim says that he doesn't think the problem is getting worse but wants to have the doctor check it.

Nothing much exciting happening here at the CG. In fact, it's pretty empty right now. All of that will change on the 25th of this month though. That's the beginning of the weekend when they're having a big Farm Show over at the airport and I'm told that the campground will be completely filled. In fact Jim says that if it's like it was 2 years ago, many of the sites will have 2 RVs on them and there will be RVs boon-docking on the surrounding streets.

Wow!!! That should be interesting!!!!

Did you know that Kermit the Frog is left-handed?

I Didn't Like It and Onawa, IA to Kellogg, IA.

Kellogg, IA

70 deg., clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny. Patchy fog through mid morning. High in the upper 80s. East wind around 5 mph shifting to the south in the afternoon.

We left Onawa about 9:55 and continued South on I-29. Jim had been told that because of the flooded Missouri River, I-29 was closed down by Council Bluff, but what he hadn't been told, (and neither had I), that I-29 would have been closed even farther North if it hadn't been for sand bags stacked along side of the road, holding millions and millions of gallons of water back!!!

Now, I'm not usually affected by water in the ditch, in a river or even flowing across the road if it's only a couple of inches deep, but folks, this water that was held back by the sandbags was clearly quite a bit higher than the roadway and was being fed by the whole flooded Missouri River!!! I just couldn't stop watching the sandbags as we passed through the area watching for leaks!!! And I couldn't help thinking, "If one of those sand bags doesn't hold, I'm going to go swimming and I can't swim"!!!!  : O

Luckily, the area with the sand bags wasn't too wide, the sand bags held and soon we were again higher than the water. : )

Once to Council Bluff all the traffic was diverted onto I-680 heading East. That was fine with me because that's the way we wanted to go anyway, and the road soon climbed to higher ground. Not too far East, and after 680 joined up with I-80, all the traffic come to a screeching halt!!! There was a construction area where all the traffic had to funnel down into one land and 2 cars both decided to use the same piece of road at the same time, resulting in a pretty bad accident.  The traffic was backed up for about 7 miles and it took us about 1/2 hour to get through the area. After that, everything went pretty well and by about 2:20 we were pulling into the Kellogg RV Park just off of the Interstate at exit 173.

It took us 4 hours and 25 minutes to travel 217 miles.

I don't really know what to say about this park. The full hook-up sites are quite level, out in the open, very long, but not very wide. There are some shady sites that are not full hook-up farther back in the park that look nice, but there's no sewer and I think they only have 30 amp electric. To get to the park, you have to enter through the Phillips 66 gas station and then go into the station to register. Everyone was friendly and the price is reasonable, so we stayed here for the night.

Also, they have a little Cafe inside of the gas station where they sell sandwiches. They have a few booths in there to sit on but they're right in the store area. So, when dinner time rolled around, Jim went up there and bought a couple sandwiches to go. Jim got the BBQ Roast Beef for himself, (which he said was very good) and a Tenderloin sandwich for Linda, (which she also said was very good). The sandwiches along with some chips and a cold beverage made a nice meal.

Today, I need to be at the HWH factory in Moscow, IA by 11:00 for my appointment to have my hydraulic leveling system worked on. It's about 95 miles over there from here, so we'll probably be leaving here about 9:00. I have no idea how long it will take to make the repairs, so I have no idea where I'll be tonight. Linda and Jim have been to a park over by Davenport quite a few years ago, so that's always a possibility.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it goes.

Did you know that the world's smallest city park is in Hiteman, Iowa, and consists of a single blade of grass growing through a crack in the sidewalk?

Linda's Day, Groceries and Getting Ready

Sioux Falls, SD

74 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Isolated thunderstorms in the late afternoon. Highs around 91. South winds 10 to 15 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of rain 20 percent.


Jim let Linda sleep late yesterday. After all, it was her birthday and what better way to start it? After she got up and ate something, she and Jim took off in CLT for the Hy Vee Grocery store that they had been to before. They didn't need a lot of groceries but they needed some essentials and they did buy a cake for Linda's birthday and a few other goodies for her to enjoy. ; )

Before Linda got up, Jim was outside checking my tires, fluid levels and in general getting me ready to travel.

When they got back from the store, and were finished putting away the groceries, Jim took a nap and Linda put in a load of laundry. After Jim woke up, he went outside and dumped my black and gray water tanks, added some water to my fresh water tank and put all the hoses away.

For dinner, Jim offered to take Linda to a restaurant but she decided that she wanted to just cook a light meal here and have a nice big piece of that chocolate cake that they bought. ; )  The evening was spent watching TV playing with the computers and reading.

Oh, and Linda wants to thank all the folks that sent her Happy Birthday wishes. She really appreciated all the comments and emails. : )

Today, we'll start heading towards Moscow, IA where I have that appointment at HWH on Monday. I don't think we're traveling very far today so we won't be leaving very early.

Did you know that Jewel Cave is the third-longest cave in the world. More than 120 miles of passages have been surveyed. Calcite crystals that glitter when illuminated give the cave its name.

C. I. T. (Central Illinois Truck)

Mahomet, IL

62 deg. clear, no wind

Forecast = Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s. South winds 10 to 15 mph.

My engine started right up yesterday morning so that Jim could drive me over to Central Illinois Truck to have my starting problem checked out. It wasn't far over there, (just North of Champaign), so it only took us about 20 minutes to get there.

My appointment was for 10:00 and by about 10:15, Jim was driving me around to the rear of the building and pulling me into an empty bay. Once I was in the bay, my engine was shut off and would not start again.

C I T is a pretty big place with lots of big trucks setting around and being worked on. As you can see by the photos below, they work on all sizes of trucks and RVs.

Their main thing though, is to work on the big rigs.

In this photo, you can see me in the 3rd bay between a Fed X truck and a school bus.

My mechanic's name was Josh and he was quite good at troubleshooting electrical problems. After an initial test, he determined that a starter relay was not sending the proper current to the starter, so he proceeded to try to locate the relay. The relay was located way back in my engine compartment and once it was found, it was a fairly easy job to replace it.

The old relay had a connection that looked like it had gotten hot, and after Josh installed the new one, my engine started right up. . . . . . . . . . . For about 5 times and then it wouldn't start again!!! : (

So. . . . . Josh crawled back under me again and got way up beside my engine where he could check out some of the wiring. After about an hour, and after much searching, he found a place on a large wiring harness, (with about 20 wires in it), where it had rubbed on a bracket worn through the jacket and worn the insulation on 4 different wires!!

You see, at some time, someone had worked on me and neglected to fasten the wiring harness back to the bracket and so the harness was free to move around and rub on the bracket and wear the insulation off of the wires. In fact one of the wires itself, was worn almost all the way through!!

In the above photo, you can see the harness running along side of my engine. The harness was worn through at a point way at the other end of my engine. (A real tough place to get to).

Josh got the wires repaired, put a cover on the harness and secured it with wire ties so that this couldn't happen again.

And, I'm glad to announce that my engine has started every time since then!!!! ; )

Yahoo!!!!!!!!

Because Jim and Linda didn't know just where we would be and when, they had the new desk and recliner for me shipped to R & S yesterday. This morning we'll be heading over there and they will help bring the furniture inside of me. Then, if everything goes well, we'll head back to Rantoul and get settled in for the holiday weekend.

Did you know that June is "National Rose Month"?

Hopeful

Mahomet, IL.

63 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast today = Sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

I'm hopeful that tomorrow when Jim takes me to a different repair shop, they'll find out what my starter problem is. The mechanic at R & S has pretty much given up on finding the problem,  so Steve, (the shop foreman) has made an appointment for me at a place called C I T. They are more familiar with Cummins engines and the mechanical part of my chassis than R & S.

Also, the desk, file cabinet and recliner are in at Ashley Furniture and will be delivered tomorrow to R & S, where they will stay until I'm done with my appointment at C I T. Then, we'll go over there and the guys at R & S will help Jim and Linda install them inside of me.

Man!! I sure hope this all works out. Jim and Linda are running out of time to get things done before we head up to Wisconsin for the reunion, right after the 4th.

Today I think Linda is going to do a load or two of laundry in my washer/dryer, and Jim says he wants to check the air pressure in all my tires and fill them up if necessary. Other than that, probably not too much will be happening around here.

Last night, Jim and Linda decided that they just wanted to "get away" for a little while, so they took CLT and went over to Champaign, IL to a Lone Star Steakhouse where they both had a very nice meal.

Did you know that New York Sun editor Charles Dana, tired of hearing Chicagoans boast of the world's Columbian Exposition, dubbed Chicago the "Windy City?"

Still Not Repaired

Mahomet, IL.

65 deg. overcast, W. wind @ 8 mph.

Forecast today = Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s. East winds 10 to 15 mph.

Bummmmer!!!!

So far, the folks at R & S have not been able to fix my starter problem. We came back here to Mahomet Friday morning and went to the Tin Cup RV Park, which is owned by R & S and is only about 1/2 a mile from the shop.

As soon as we arrived, Jim called Steve and he sent Justin out to work on me some more, but after searching for about 2 hours, found nothing that would help. My starter seems to work OK when my engine is cold, but after driving me for 1/2 hour or so, it will not work at all or will just try to work, kind of like my batteries are dead.

I have new batteries and the starter has been rebuilt, so we don't think that's the problem. The consensus seems to be that there is a bad connection somewhere that is affected by heat.

This is my site here at the Tin Cup CG. When we got here Friday there was no one in this pull-thu section, but as of today, it's completely full.

So, what's going to happen? Well, there's a possibility that I will be taken over to Bloomington, IL where there is a Cummins dealer so that they can look at me and try to figure out what's wrong. Steve called them Saturday but was unable to set up an appointment.

He'll call again tomorrow and try to set something up.

As you can tell, I'm pretty "down" by all of this. Jim and Linda need to get me ready to head up to Wisconsin for the family reunion, but their items are in storage in Rantoul. We'll need to leave Illinois by the 6th of July, so that's not very far away.

Oh, and on top of all of this, the furniture company wants to deliver the desk and recliner this Wednesday!!! But, the problem is, we don't know where I'll be on Wednesday!!!!

Did you know that on this day in 1956, the U.S. Congress approves the Federal Highway Act, which allocates more than $30 billion for the construction of some 41,000 miles of interstate highways?