A Little Repair, Dinner At Perkins and More Photo Albums

Moncure, NC

45 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 63F. Winds from the NNW at 5 to 10 mph.


Sunday was a very nice day, (once it warmed up a little in the morning), so Jim spent quite a bit of time outside doing "things".

One thing he definitely wanted to get done was to check my front clearance lights. These lights have leaked water into me before when it rains and after the last heavy rain we had, there was a small amount of water running down on the inside of my windshield.

Even before Jim and Linda bought me, one of my previous owners had put sealer all around each light, (the lights are kind of recessed into the panel over my windshield), and once before, Jim had added additional sealer to stop a leak. This time, he added a little more where it looked like the sealant had pulled away from the lights and we're hoping that this will take care of the problem.

Since he had to get his folding step ladder out to reach the lights, he also used it to spay a little silicone spray on my main awning joints and roller tube ends. When he sprays these areas, it seems to make the awning open and close easier, putting less strain on the little electric motor.

While Jim was busy outside, Linda was digging through the last box of photo albums. In this box, she has found a whole bunch of photos plus a whole bunch of birth announcements and other papers that have important information about family members.

As planned, for dinner, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to the Perkins Restaurant in Apex, to have dinner with Mike and his family. CLT says that everyone seemed to enjoy their meals, but of course the main reason for being there was to spend time with family. ; )

After eating and talking for awhile, CLT brought Jim and Linda back here and Mike and his family headed back to their house.

Yesterday morning started out with a pretty sunrise. Jim took this photo from my site here in the park, so I thought I'd share. ; )

As soon as Linda got up, she and Jim continued going through more albums. They found a whole bunch of family photos in one of the albums that Jim's mother had put together many, many years ago, and spent the better part of the day working on them.

During the morning, the clouds started moving in and for a good part of the afternoon we had showers, some of them quite heavy. Then, about 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed back to Mike and Gina's for dinner and to visit some more. After a yet another nice meal, they visited to around 7:30 and then headed back here.

Today, being that it's our last day here, Jim and Linda have to get done with the photo albums. Jim also needs to dump my tanks and add a little water to my fresh water tank. Then, I'm quite sure he'll put all the hoses away so he doesn't have to do it in the morning when it's cold and those hoses are stiff as a board!  : )

Did you know that North Carolina has 1,500 lakes of 10 acres or more in size and 37,000 miles of fresh water streams?

Plan "B" and A Few Photos

Moncure, NC

58 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny, high temp. 79 deg. W. wind @ 5 mph.


It rained most of the morning yesterday and while Jim was sitting outside under my awning and enjoying a cup of coffee, the phone rang.

It was Mike, calling from work, and he was wondering if it would be OK if Jim and Linda did not come over to his house for dinner. You see, he needed to go to some kind of business meeting at a restaurant and wouldn't be home until late.

Of course, Jim told him that would be fine, and he and Linda would see him and his family Friday night.

So, that meant that Jim and Linda would have to come up with a "Plan B".

While Jim was talking to Mike on the phone, the rain let up so he decided he'd try to get a few photos of the RV Park. This first one is of the entrance to the park.

This is a shot from near the entrance looking into one of the sections of the park. As you can see, there's not much vegetation in the area where the sites are located.

This is a photo of me in my site. That's a light pole right next to me, so I'm really lit up at night. ; )

By noon, the rain quit and it ended up being a very nice day. It was pretty warm though and the humidity was quite high, so other than hooking up the rest of my utilities, Jim didn't spend a whole lot of time outside.

Linda had gotten way behind with the laundry, so she spent much of the day trying to catch up.

Sometime during the afternoon, it was decided that for "plan B", they would go out for dinner instead of cooking here, so about 5:00, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Sanford, NC, and to the Brass Kettle Family Restaurant. They found this restaurant last year when we were here and the food and service were very good, so they decided to try it again.

And, again, they weren't disappointed. : )

It was about 7:00 by the time they returned, and soon after that, this is what they saw out of my windshield.

/Today, Linda wants to do more laundry and Jim says he has a few things he wants to do outside. And then of course, they'll head over to Mike and Gina's for dinner, and to visit some more.

Did you know that on this date in 1921 - The World Series was broadcast on the radio for the first time? The game was between the New York Giants and the New York Yankees.

Lots Of Rain

Rantoul, IL.

71 deg. clear, NE wind @ 8 mph.

Forecast = Periods of showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 80 percent.


Lots of rain!!! I don't think that we'll get the 7 inches of rain from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac that some of the weather stations have fore casted, but we're getting there. As of this morning, Jim's rain gauge had 4.3 inches of rain in it, and they're forecasting more showers for today and tonight.

So far, I haven't heard of any flooding in the immediate area, but then who knows. The local TV stations around here evidently don't think that there is any news to report on the weekends. Oh, they have the evening news, but by that time, much of the news you're getting is almost 24 hours old!!!

Being that it rained off and on for much of yesterday, there's not much to report on from here. Friday, Jim did go to the Rural King store and pick up a few items that he wanted, but other than that, he and Linda haven't done much except watch TV, read, and work/play with the computers.

A lot of RVs came in for the weekend, but there are quite a few sites empty, so there must have been a lot of cancellations. It's too bad that this storm had to come right on the Labor Day weekend because that's the last weekend many people will get a chance to go camping.

So, what's going to happen today?  I really don't have any idea. A lot will depend on the weather. There are still some showers just to the South of us and with the warm muggy air that we have now, more may form this afternoon.

Did you know that on this date in 1935 a hurricane hit the Florida Keys killing 423 people?

Isaac Remnants Still Heading This Way

Rantoul, IL.

66 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy in the morning, then mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 90F. Winds from the SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20%.


About the only thing that happened yesterday was that Jim and Linda made a quick run to the grocery store to pick up a few items before the Labor Day Holiday. Being Thursday morning, there weren't may people shopping, but that will probably change today.

There's actually 2 reasons more people will be shopping. The first one is, of course, the Labor Day Holiday. The 2nd reason is the weather that they're forecasting for the weekend.

You see, they're still forecasting a lot of rain and possible high winds from the remnants of Isaac that will be coming through Illinois on Saturday and Sunday. The latest forecast for rain, (as of this morning), is somewhere between 5 to 7 inches for this area, with possible heavier amounts in some local areas.

Now, the problem is not with the amount of rain, but with the short amount of time when it will happen. In fact, the rain is needed here and even that much will not make up for the drought. But, if it all comes down during a short period of time, there's sure to be some flooding. Also, if it rains too much too fast, much of the rain will run off into the streams and rivers and will not soak into the ground to help with the moisture level deep down in the soil.

Jim didn't get a chance to talk to Louise yesterday, but I'm guessing that there will be quite a few sites available here in the CG for the weekend. Many people will not want to come with the forecast of heavy rain for almost the entire weekend. : (

Did you know that the first annual observance of Labor Day was organized by the American Federation of Labor in 1884, which resolved in a convention in Chicago that "the first Monday in September be set aside as a laborer's national holiday?"

A Quiet Weekend, Linda And Jim and Rain

Rantoul, IL.

71 deg. cloudy, W. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning...Then mostly sunny in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.


It has been pretty quiet here a Prairie Pines this weekend. A few RVs came in, but they're either gone already or will be leaving today. Linda has been doing laundry and doing more research for her Family Tree Maker program.

Jim has been working on our trip plan from here to the East Coast. He's been making some changes to it and now it sounds like we'll be staying her a few days longer than originally planned.

Oh! Debbie, one of my followers, made a comment on this blog the other day and informed me that there is another full-timing couple named Linda and Jim staying here at this park. Jim talked to Louise and he is pretty sure they're on a site over on the other side of the CG. Jim found their blog in the Internet and it sounds like they are planning on being here for a couple of weeks, so maybe Jim and Linda can get together with Linda and Jim and swap RVing stories. ; ) 

We had pretty heavy rain go through this area yesterday. Jim didn't have his rain gauge out, but I'm guessing  that we had more than an inch of rain. That's OK though, this area is still way short on rainfall for the year. It's real muggy outside this morning, but they're forecasting drier weather for the next few days.

Today, Jim and Linda need to pick up Jim's other prescription at Walgreen's, check on mail at the post office and mail a couple birthday cards. Other than that, I don't think there's any other plans.

A Point to Ponder : If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.

Drivers, Usual Stuff and Olympics

Rantoul, IL.

61 deg., rain, SW wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Showers likely and a chance of thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.


Why is it that some drivers insist on driving fast in campgrounds and RV Parks? Yesterday, a car came past in front of me that had to be going 30 mph!!! Now, if you're out on the street that goes past the CG that's fine, but here in the park, especially on the weekends, there are children playing and some of them wander out onto the roads from time to time!!!

This weekend, we have more children than we usually do, and I'm guessing that they range all the way from infants to teen-agers. When this guy went speeding by, there were about 5 or 6 small children, (I'm guessing ages 2 through 6), playing just feet away from the road. If one of them would have wandered out on the road from between parked cars, it would have been a disaster!!!! : O

And, it's not just people in cars either!  How many of you have seen the guy in the big MH or truck pulling a 5th wheel go blasting through a park like they were out on an expressway? 

What are these people thinking?   Don't they realize that they can't stop that rig in time if a child should happen to run out onto road? 

So, please slow down when driving through a CG or RV Park. You're site will still be there in 5 extra minutes, the the camper who invited you over for coffee will keep it hot for you and if you're leaving the CG, it really won't make any difference if you leave the park a few minutes later.

If you should happen to hit a child or even possibly an adult, you're sure to be a whole lot later, and just think how bad you would feel.  : (

Jim and Linda didn't do anything special this weekend. Jim went through another one of my basement bays and re-arranged it. He also took a couple bike rides and talked to Paul and Louise. Linda did a lot of work on her Family Tree Maker program and of course, they both watched the Olympics on TV.

You know, I'm kind of glad that the Olympics are over. I enjoyed them but I'm looking forward to regular programing again. Oh, and talking about the Olympics, how did you like the closing ceremonies? I guess they were OK if you were a young person, but I just didn't get a lot of it.

Jim said that the only part of the closing ceremonies that he liked at all was the Spice Girls segment. ; )

They're talking about rain off and on all day today, so I don't know what, if anything, will get done outside. Jim has some computer stuff that he needs to get done, so maybe this will be a good day for doing that.

Did you know that the idea of an Olympic Flame burning from the start of the games to the closing was first introduced in 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, where a fire was lit in the tower of the stadium, though no torch relay was undertaken? The first torch relay was conducted for the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Been Doing Some Calculating

Rantoul, IL.

62 deg. overcast, NW wind @ 14 mph.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy with isolated showers. Highs in the mid 70s. North winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.


Yesterday, I said that I'd be traveling quite a few more miles yet this year. Well, that got me thinking about how much and where I've traveled since Jim and Linda purchased me here in Illinois last summer.

So, I've done come calculating!!!

By my count, in the last 13 months, we've been to 26 states, (9 of them twice), and traveled 11,313 miles!!!!!

Wow!!!! No wonder I'm enjoying these couple months of relaxing here in Rantoul!!!!

Not a whole lot to report for yesterday. Jim must have felt ambitious because he went through some shelves in my bedroom closet and threw some stuff away. Then he reorganized the rest of it to make more room. A little later, he went outside and completely emptied one of my basement compartments and repacked it, incorporating some items that CLT had in the back of him.

Linda finished up her latest embroidery project and  worked on her Family Tree program. Then for dinner she put together a nice meal of meatloaf, sweet corn and potato salad.

Around dinner time we had some light showers come through the area. I understand that there was some severe weather near here, with some damage, but all we had was a little rain and some distant thunder.

Did you know that today is "National S'mores Day"?

Finally, Some Rain!!

Rantoul, IL.

70 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 9 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy in the morning, then clear. High of 86F. Winds from the NNW at 10 to 15 mph.


We finally got some measurable rain last night!!! I don't know exactly how much we had, but I'm thinking it must have been around 1/2" or so. I know that 's not a lot as far as the drought is concerned, but it's got to help.

Not much happening around here. It's been so hot that hardly anyone has been out and about. Linda has been doing some bookwork, working on her family tree program and has gotten out an embroidery project that she needs to get finished before we we leave here.

Jim did a little cleaning inside of me early yesterday morning and then went to the Post Office and picked up the mail.

The rest of the day was spent watching the Olympic Games on TV.

Oh, and I almost forgot, they took CLT and went to the China Express Restaurant for dinner yesterday. They both had the buffet and both said that they thought the food was very good. : )

Again, no plans for today, but I expect that Jim will be outside more because of the cooler weather, and of course I'm sure he and Linda will both be watching the Olympics on TV.

Did you know that the first Games to include competitors from all five continents was in 1912?