Tucson......The final leg.

We made it to CCRV before noon today thanks to another clock set back. Love that Arizona time but don't like the long time difference with friends. Alas, only lasts for a few hours cause tonight the rest of the country falls back to standard time. It was a nice trip from Lordsburg, NM to Tucson. The highlight for me being my son calling and telling me I could say "I told you so". Of course I didn't but it was nice Mom could be right still. His wife had an auto accident while at a Quilting "Thing" in Iowa. I pulled up some insurance knowledge from my days in the insurance world and put some positive spins on his concerns and it turned out to their advantage.

Tucson welcomed us with a warm sunny day and lots of friends already here and more to come. Already had a margarita and nibbles with friends. Lots of chatting and catching up on what people have been up to this past summer. The best surprise of all was seeing Donna and Paul Browning after two years. Paul looks great, so good to have them both back with us and now close by. I have a feeling this is going to be a great winter at CCRV.

Weather Update

What a day. Breakfast at the Elk City KOA was great as usual. She made a dutch apple pie for tonights dessert but I didn't give in to temptation. We left to continue our journey. It rained so much during the night that neither one of us got much sleep but we wanted to press on before we got stuck in more bad weather. Just as we were leaving OK and entering TX rain hit and it rained till we got to Amarillo, TX. Sun came out and we donned our new sunglasses and kept on traveling. Wow what a surprise, just as we were crossing over into New Mexico we got hit with rain and sleet covering the trailer and truck. Made it thru that without any problems and the sun came out again. Pulled into Tucumcari, NM for gas and it started snowing. Not real bad just flakes that didn't stick. Pulled into Santa Rosa RV park and they informed us they were turning off all water at 8 PM tonight so their pipes didn't freeze. Guess next year we'll have to leave in the middle of Sept to miss the bad weather. We're just glad none of the foul weather caused any accidents or damage.

Glad to hear from friends as they pull into CCRV for the season. Looking forward to seeing everyone again and absorb some of that beautifully warm Tucson sun.

Tripping to Tucson

I'm a day late on our journey blog. I think I have a good excuse. You'll have to let me know. We started out from Lockport Tuesday morning, fairly early for us but by the time we were in Springfield, IL it had started to rain. St Louis traffic wasn't bad but the rain was progressively worse. Since we can't "dry camp" cause we don't have a generator we pulled into the KOA in Stanton, MO for the evening. The Missouri mud came back to mind. The camp spot was gravel so it wasn't to bad and the bathroom wasn't to far off. It rained and rained and rained so we didn't open up the slides to keep from having to wipe them off when we brought them in. That meant no furnace since the slide covers the cold air return. No TV since the slide covers the TV. We did have electricity so we plugged in the space heater and the laptops and settled in for the evening. Then off this morning for about five hundred and fifty miles and back to rain and rumors of snow to the west. We'll see what tomorrow brings. We're in one of our favorite parks, Elk City KOA, where we've spent more than one night several times to wait out storms.

We heard someone say today that it was getting windy driving so they must be getting close to OK. It does seem to be windy here a lot. I think worse than Tucson. At lease the trailer doesn't rock in Tucson.

I'll try to keep this up to date daily.

Oh yes, there was a really neat rest stop in Missouri. Appeared to be relatively new. The building was spotless and the people were extremely helpful. But the best part was the picnic table covers. They had a different Route 66 facade over each picnic table.

Waukegan

Wow, here I am setting on the back deck with nothing but trees in my face. The sound of a motor overshadowing nature but the two men running (playing) are happy and that's what matters. Ron and one of his brothers (Greg) are splitting logs and I'm trying to amuse myself for the day.

I so love coming up here but it makes Ron happy and he deserves that. At lease I don't have to listen to them today. Thanks goodness for laptops. It's a beautiful fall day but the trees haven't started their show of colors.

I'm trying to not be negative but it's getting more and more difficult. Oh Well. I tried. Pictures when I get home, forgot the cord.

35 years

Wow, tomorrow we will be married 35 years. I seems like just yesterday that we were walking down Chicago Street in downtown Joliet. Ron asked if I wanted to get married today instead of the next week. Off we went to the jewelry store but our rings weren't in so they loaned us two. Then off to the courthouse to find a judge but his clerk informed us that is was customary to tip the judge. As usual we didn't have any money so I stayed at the courthouse while Ron walked across the street to our bank. I thought he had skipped out, it seemed like he was gone forever. But he did return just as the courthouse was getting ready to close for the day and week. The kindly judge reminded us so much of the Addams Family character Lurch. I was so nervous I started to laugh. Ron thought the judge was going to throw us out without marrying us but he didn't. I'm so glad we got married that day. I can't imagine my life without him. I know it wouldn't have been so full of adventures.

On, Friday, September 18th we made our annual pilgrimage to Missouri for the Fall Fest. No reunion this year. Anticipating the usual throngs of old school mates and relatives to introduce my daughter, Betsy and Alan. I don't know the reason but no one came. The Corwin connection was a big loss with illness running thru the family they stayed back in Morris, IL but so many others didn't show. It was a big disappointment. One positive note was the Memphis restaurants. Keith's Cafe was open under new management and what a difference. You could just sense how much cleaner it was and the food wasn't portion control. It was home grown and made. The pork cutlets were twice the size of the bun and my chicken actually had fat on it from where it probably had been free range grown. We could watch them cut the potatoes up just before they put them in the deep fryer. The fresh home made pies were tempting but since no one finished their meal we passed. If you're ever on Route 136 going thru Memphis, MO. Stop at Keiths Cafe for a plain down home cooked good meal. And if you need to stay a night, the Sunrise Motel is the best. The manager is a very dear women who adds just the wright touches to the rooms. The above picture is of the entrance to the office but there are beautifully kept flowers and benches all around the entrances to the rooms.

Hair cut and color day

Most people just drive a few miles to get their hair done. Not us. We have to follow the best so off we go to Kenosha, WI on Monday morning. Not real early you understand. Out the door and up the road to I-355 (Veterans Highway). We use it constantly, makes our lives so much easier and well worth the tolls. After all, we have an I-PASS transponder so we can zoom thru toll booths.

North till the road becomes I-290 past Woodfield Mall and then becomes Rt 53 and dead ends. We choose Lake/Cook Road for 7 miles to 294 which puts us north of O'Hare without any hassle. Now 294 is a mess with construction and lane changes but we make it into Wisconsin and arrive at Rt 50 in no time. Exit on Rt 50 and grab a bite at Arby's. 5 for $5.00. Bethany and Gregory's home is just down the road and the new GPS finds it with not a wrong turn anywhere. It's a beautiful new home in a very nice subdivision across from a corn field and a church. Bethany takes the time to show us the yard and the entire inside including all the upgrade bargains. Finally to the basement and haircuts and color, which both turned out just great.

Sometime between the time we made the appointment and the time we left we decided to share a couple of cameras that we didn't use anymore with their two absolutely brilliant children. I say that because once each of them received their "new" cameras and without much coaching they both knew who and what they wanted to take pictures of. Davin even figured out how to erase the ones he didn't like. Kiley hadn't quite mastered that when we left. Mom told us she had already taken over 100 pictures. I'll bet daddy can't wait to see every one of them.

After a nice supper and a little more chat we reversed the GPS and arrived home safe and sound. It is such a wonderful feeling when you give someone something they really like.

Shish ka bobs

What a beautiful day we had on Sunday. Ron and I and Betsy and Alan met at our friend, Larry's house where his children, Mark and wife (Tammy), Chris and husband (Matt) and Julie and husband (Jim) joined in for the best shish ka bobs ever. Many years ago, Larry's wife and the kids mother, Caryl, found the receipe in some magazine and decided to try it out on us. The presumption was that the kids, her three and our two, wouldn't like it and eat hot dogs. Well, the kids loved it and the adults had to wait for the second round. I do have the receipe but it just wasn't something I felt I could make as good as Caryl. Caryl died two years ago in April so it seemed the tradition was over. After talking to the kids on Facebook they decided they wanted to do it again. In July they invited us over and it was a smashing success. We laughed and told stories about the past 35 years. Just couldn't let it be the last so Sunday we did it again and I swear, it was better than the first. The meat was marinated to perfection and the potatoes and onions and mushrooms and peppers we basted just right. The company was fantastic, as usual and we even remembered to take some pictures.

Sandwich Fair

Had a great day yesterday in Sandwich, IL. Yes, it's a real name of a real town. It's just west of Plano, IL. So first is Plano then Sandwich. Sorry, I just couldn't stop myself. But if you have a fishing tackle box or an EMT box it was probably made in Plano so you'll know I'm not kidding. Sandwich has the final fair in the state every year beginning the week after Labor Day. It's one of the best if not the best in the state. Lots of farm animals and farm equipment to browse thru, a carnival, lots of great food all on acres of trees and fresh air. This year we were blessed to have the friend that started us going to the fair accompany us with his new friend. He lost his wife about two and a half years ago and has just started dating. I'm sure all four of us were a little stressed but she's a very nice lady and her and I got along just fine. We went off by ourselves while the guys perused the Sandwich two stroke engines and the farm equipment and old tractors and what ever else "guys do". I can't finish this blog without mentioning the great pork chops we get every time from Fay's Pork. It's always in the same place....it's always busy....and the food is always great......but the one thing that never changes but could is the lemonade....it's always terrible....

Labor Day Weekend

The last weekend of summer....doesn't seem to matter anymore. We are trying to enjoy each day for it's own merits. For the past few years Labor Day weekend has come to mean a trip the the Frankfort Fall Fest. Not to purchase any of the many craft booths or partake of the food court but to visit with some dear friends. I have know Jenny all her life and Randy as long as they have been married. Jenny's mother, Reva, and I grew up together on the streets of Rutledge, MO. We rode Reva's family horses bareback. Sometimes Reva on one and I on the other but if another friend, Sandy, joined then it was either two on the roan and one on the dappled Appaloosa or all three on the roan. Needless to say, we did a lot of walking. Cooling off the horses.

Jenny and Randy are hard workers and have a slew of business they run out of their home depending on the time of year. At this one the bring tin ceilings. Some are in good enough condition to just mount on walls for decorations and other are pretty bad so Jenny paints designs on them. I'm a sucker for those, especially the ones with mirrors placed in back of a design cut out like pitch cards. Makes the rooms look larger and she usually does a few in colors by request. They're different and they recycle.

See, I'm always trying to save the earth.

It's about time.

I guess life got busy and carried me away. But life has been good to us both. We've met so many nice people in Arizona and the Will County Retirees Club. If anyone has ever worked shift work with rotating days off they'll understand how hard it is to keep in touch with friends. Especially if they're doing the same thing.

Now that that time of our lives has past we're enjoying the transistion to the next faze. Enjoying life and friends and living the dream.

Why me?.......Why not.......