Ketchup!

I guess we've been having way too much fun! The days have been long and full and the nights, somehow, have been short. Haven't posted anything in about 3 days, so here goes.....
Sept 19
The last I posted, we were heading for Campbellsville, KY to tour Amazon.com. Before we left Louisville, we went to Mass at St Francis Xavier, a beautiful church, we really enjoyed the Mass. We ate at a Waffle House after Mass, just couldn't pass up a southern shot of grease!
Well just let me say Amazon was an eye opener! Don't know what you might understand about how it works but the place was HUGE and there was everything that can be ordered from Amazon is in that warehouse! I figured they middle-man'd the products but they don't, they actually stock every product in every color or style that is available. The way it is organized is down to a science. Well, I guess you can tell I was impressed. (Mo too) We checked out the campgrounds they provide and decided where we wanted to stay. Stephanie, our contact there, was pleased we came by and assures us we have a place there next year.
We left there and decided to drive to just south of Knoxville and stay the night in a Walmart parking lot. It was a long way and we ended up driving after dark (9:30) but we wanted to get past the morning traffic
Sept 20
We woke up to a parking lot vacumn machine going around and around the lot at 4am, then trucks coming in for deliveries. We ended up leaving about 9:30 am, we fell back asleep for a few minutes and then drank a pot of coffee. We had our sights set on a camp ground somewhere around Michael's house, probably close to lake Allatoona. Mo got on the computer and finally found one about 5 miles from his house, a really nice, wooded corp of engineers site right on the lake. We arrived about noon. We got set up and went shopping........
Here's where it gets good, ya ready ??
We had talked several times about getting a Jeep but we just never could get serious about it. We knew the Hyundia was a good car and we sure didn't want to have a car note! It started to make sense to us, though, that a jeep would give us a lot more flexibility in this new lifestyle. Where we would be working, a solid all terrain vehicle might be nessacery even. We asked Michael, our oldest son, who has a Jeep Cherokee, what he thought. He totally agreed and said he would start looking around after we talked some on Monday. He suggested that in the meantime we should visit this used Jeep dealer that was right on the way to the campground. We missed the dealer due to some road construction but after we got set up we both said what the heck, lets go back and just look. Well we found out we knew the owner from a long time ago when we  were in a prayer group together, (1986?) so of course that was good/bad. It was exclusively  a used jeep dealer and Gary had all kinds and colors. Opps, not all kinds, just Wranglers. We looked at a bunch and drove alot, and then we found one that was just the right color...... and price....... and we were in to deep when they offered us more then we thought the Hyundai was worth for a trade. We wheeled and dealed and ended up with a hard top, better tires and the installation of the tow hithch and we did the dddddeal. We wrote a check for the bit of difference and said we would be back the next day to do the swap. That night we had a cookout with Michael and Carin, Declin and Colin and stayed up sharing beers and bull. When they left, we showered and collapsed in the bed.
Sept 21
We had to rise early and drive to a Camping World in Gainseville, GA to pick up the new mounts for the Jeep. It was an hour and a half drive one way so we didn't get back until 10:30am. they said it would be ready in about 2 hours, so no problem, we had until 3pm to check out from the campground. There was a real nice lounge area and Mo had the computer so we made ourselves comfortable. Noon came and went, then 1pm then 2pm and they kept telling us "just a few more minutes". Finally at 2:15 they brought out the Hyundai and we went to the campground, quickly broke camp and checked out at 3pm on the dot. By the time we got back the Jeep was ready. They had a lot of trouble adapting the wireing harness for the tow lights to the Jeep but they said it was ready at last. I had parked the coach across and down the street, so we drove over,  hooked up and checked the lights as always. Well when I put on the blinker, all the Jeep lights flashed, when I put on the brakes the lights worked correctly, but when I turned on the lights, nothing came on. At that point we had had enough, the brake lights worked and all the lights on the Jeep would flash so at least the traffic behind would be warned of something about to happen and we weren't going to be driving at night so I said 'lets' go', I'd figure it out when we got home.

Edit and continue tomorrow.......

Here's a couple of pics in Opileka, AL campground...

We drove out of Atlanta, of course the traffic was thick but I've seen much worse there, and found a camp ground on the internet about 4 miles off I-85 in Opeleka, AL. We made good time and got there about 6pm, plenty of time to get set up and shower. We figred we had about a 4 hour drive to get home so we decided to sleep in and work on stowing some things better. We had unloaded the Hyundai so fast we just stuffed things here and there, the place was a mess. We left about noon made good time and got home finally about 5pm.  We stopped at Camping World about the backup camera and filled the propane tanks for the winter. It was good to be home! Now back to work at the real j-o-b.

Who-da-lotti... I almost fogot, we got the call from Mammoth Lakes...WE GOT THE JOB!!!!
We start May 15th and our completion date is Oct 15th. We  -  are  -  excited  !!
Check it out;   http://www.crystalcraglodge.com/

Check back now and then and we'll post the latest ....

Making our way back to Alabama.

We unhooked from the repair shop umbilical cord about 8:45 but then had to wait to dump. We were full of grey and black water and we wanted a good weight on the coach. Our appointment to be weighed was at 9:30 and we thought we would be late, but we got there dead on time. It took the guy about 5-10 minutes to get our weight. Surprisingly we were in real good shape. We were either just a bit over or under at all 4 points. I honestly thought we would be way over on the drivers side. The man said we shouldn't try and move anything, in fact we could add weight if we wanted, Mo took this to mean she could go right out shopping! We hooked up the car and hit the road, we wanted to get to "GrandMa's Campground" about 30 miles south of Louisville, KY and get set up before the Auburn game at 6pm. The route we took, the best one, was state hwy for the first 125 miles and it took us through some small towns. That's really the most scenic way if you have the time and we did. Well these roads are well traveled by RV's and semis so we made good time, until we got to a town called 'Napanee'. The route showed us turning onto hwy 6 in town. We had fallen behind a 5th wheel travel trailer and as we approached town we spotted a trooper stopping traffic and directing them right or left. He motioned for the travel trailer to go left and we followed . As we turned we could see that there was a fair in town so we were being routed around town center. That was OK, but the TT turned right at the next turn and, like a Lemming, we followed, right into a subdivision/apartment complex! Luckily, Mo had the computer on and tuned in so we wound around and found our way out. In doing so we ended up right at the edge of the fair with people walking in the street with kids and pets. We creeped slowly through with dagger looks from the town folks, a lot of them Amish. Jeeezz, some people just can't take a joke! We just smiled and waved. Eventually Mo got us out of there safely, only a few low branches scrubbed the roof, no cars or people. We have no idea what ever happened to the TT! After that it was a good road, and though it was a long day of driving, it was a pretty easy day. We drove straight through and made it to the campground at 4:30,  plenty of time to get a pot of chili going, set up the rig, drink a beer and wait for the game. WAR EAGLE !!
Tomorrow, after a good nights sleep and a good hot shower, we'll head for Campbellville KY to interview and tour the Amazon plant for employment next Christmas season.
Post ya then.....

On the road again-

We got started on time,actually we didn't crank up until about 6:45 but that was ok. We arrived in Elkhart right at 7:30am and the service dept got right on the job. They are actually going to remove the whole machine from the coach and take it to another company for repairs. Good luck on getting it out of the coach! So now we're sitting in a laundramat doing the wash so we can have nice clean clothes for next week.
O yeah, we have a Skype interview with the Sierra Nevada Mtns employer around noon or so. This position looks good but we have some questions that we need to ask and I'm sure he does also. We'll see.
The clothes are about done so we'll continue this later......
Well we finished the laundry and rode around Elkhart, this is truely the rv capital, or used to be. There are a lot of businesses closed down here, it's way more depressed then our neck of the woods. We ended up back at the grocery store "Side Door Cafe" for lunch and the Skype job interview. Other then all the back ground noise, it went well. The job looks very promising and has a lot of advantages for us. The only disadvantage is that it is at 10,000' and the first and last month the job will be cold, the rest of the time it will be in the 70's. Hummmmm what else, the washer/dryer got repaired and reinstalled, we only had to pay the deductabe and one hours labor for the extra time it took to remove it and reinstall it. Don't kow how they did it! We finished up with the repair shop about 5 and since they had hook-ups we decided to stay here for the night, we have to start heading south tomorrow. First stop is back in Goshen to get the rig weighed. This is important as it will be weighed at each wheel so we'll know how well the load is balanced. This effects the safety tremendously, the steering, the gas milage and especially the braking. This monster takes a long way to come to a stop, even with the engine brake it requires about 200' from about 50mph. ( the car takes about 50-60;).  I think we are ok as far as total weight, but I think we are way heavy on the drivers side. We;ll see tomorrow and then see how we can adjust.
Time to sleep, been a day for sure!

back on the road

Yesterday, Thursday, we had rain most all day, never hard but kind of drizzle and wet. It was the first day of weather that was even a little bit bad so it was still ok. We had some more seminars and lots of social time with the friends we have made. Mo has become quite the social butterfly, the group is trying to draft her to be the 'president' of the class of 2010. Ain't gonna happen though. I have been having a good time too, the classes are very informative and even though I have learned a good bit of the info it has been by trial and error so it's good to find out the 'accepted' way.  We had the closing ceremonies starting at 4:30 pm and of course or gang brought plenty of 'spirit' to lighten the atmosphere. It was mostly thank yous to all the help and who will be on next years committee. We really didn't pay to much attention, we had to much to discuss amongst our selves! Included in the cost of the rally was a dinner that was last night too. It was hot dogs!!! By the time we got there they were out of pickles and drinks, (bottled water) so for dinner we had a hot dog w/ ketchup and a small bag of potato chips but by then none of us cared!! We went back home about 9 or so and started to break it down for departure in the morning. We were scheduled to be in Elkhart at 7:30am to get the service work done on the washer. When we went to bed everything was ready to go except to unplug and roll up the water hose. I told the neighbors to expect a wake up at 6am, it would be us cranking up!
we tried to read but.......

Pictures from our trip so far.

On the road there were many wind mill farms.  I wonder how much energy these huge things create.  There were everywhere in Iowa, SD, & Illinois.  I wonder why we don't have them in the south.

These are pictures of the Omish buggies.  Walmart provides them with a covered barn.  I wish we had covered parking for rainy days.

These are some of our new friends from the Class of 2010 Fulltime RV'rs "The Dream Catchers"

Here are the Happy Hour picture.

Pot Luck!!  YUMMMM!

Catch up time....WARNING: very long

Well we've had a blast this week, so much so that we have neglected to post anything to the blog.
so, I'll try to catch up at least with what I can remember!
We finally arrived at the Menards parking lot that we had agreed to meet a couple of other folks at. We took the 'scenic' tour through Goshen, IN. It was neat though, when we got  off the interstate we were on a two lane hwy, a good road but as we traveled along we encountered the black horse drawn buggies that the Amish people use. This was REALLY cool as we haven't ever seen this before. They just 'clip-clop' along at about 15 mph leaving piles, or dribbles, of doo along the way. As I said, we finally got to Menards, ( it's a department store similar to a Lowes or Home Depot) and got settled in. Until way after dark the Amish Buggies came clip-clopping through the lot, it was really interesting! The businesses here have accommodations for the Amish folks, even a parking barn at Wal-Mart that holds about 20 carriages. Well the next morning, Sunday, three other rigs pulled in and we all paraded to the fairgounds. This place is huge! The Escapees organization has this down to a well oiled machine. We pulled in and followed the flaggers right through the enrty process without a hitch, and it looked like the other 900 +/- rigs did the same. We hooked up electricity and water but there was a break in the line somewhere tat was being repaired so it was an hour before we had water.We had plenty in the tank so no sweat. We met our neighbors around us, the rigs are parked about 8-10' apart on the sides and back with a driving lane in front. Not to cramped but the big awnings won't go out. We bike every where we go as this place is so big we'd walk, or at least Mo would, walk ourselves to death. ;) We have met so many great people, and believe me, I have the youngest, prettiest woman here!! AHHHHH Life is Good!
Enough, enough!!!
Ok moving on, Monday morning I got up and went for a run into town, a nice 6 miler, then we went to some seminars. I went to Tire Safety and Pressure Monitoring Systems and Mo went to Investing for RV'ers.  Later I went to Weight Safety AC Electrical Safety class and Mo was supposed to go to a class but was just to pooped to go! Somewhere in there I cleaned the outside of the MoHo real good. I finished just after dark but it was worth it, now it's nice and shiny. We were supposed to go to a happy hour but we ended up crashing in the bed.
Tuesday again we went to classes, I went to a Basic RV Systems I and then later the II section of the course. Mo took the morning off from classes and worked around the MoHo and visited friends. After lunch I thought I was going to another class explaining the 3 electrical systems and how they work together but ended up in a fire safety class. I think I probably learned more in that class!This is a tenderbox with all sorts of ignites!!  Mo was supposed to go to a class about legal documents but I think she bailed on the whole class. When we were at Winnebago they were to fix the washing machine but in order to do it they needed to overnight in the parts, at a cost to us of at least 120.00, so we said we'd wait until we could get back home to get that fixed. Well Elkhart, IN is motor home capital of the USA and Mo got to talking to a company at a booth before her afternoon class and they said they could repair it Friday if we could get it to them by 7:30am. They also would do it all under the warranty so we went and cancelled our Friday appointment with the rig weighing company and called the RV repair company and told them we would be there. Whew! Tuesday was a busy day, then we went to happy hour. THAT was NOT what a happy hour was supposed to be! so all of our group pulled tables together, got the beer and wine out and proceeded to establish a new happy hour procedure. We left about 2 hours after everyone else had cleared out when all our refreshments were gone. We got a lot of looks from some old folks as they were leaving but we were having a good time! The class of 2010 had officially been recognized! We finally turned out the lights about 10pm, way after our usual time.
Wednesday, we had gotten a bottle of Bailey's at the martins store, it was cheap! so we decided to take it easy this morning, have a coffee and lounge around. We did and then I went for a run, It was a gorgeous day, about 55' and bright clear sunshine,the run felt really good and I just kept going, ended up with about 9 easy miles. Mo was still in her jammies when I got back! We decided to take the day of and go into Goshen and get some lunch and then drive to Elkhart and find the repair shop. It was a good thing we did because we could never have driven the motorhome through the streets the way we went. After we found the place, we back tracked a route that would be RV friendly. By then it was 4pm and we just have been taking it easy since then.
This rally has really been a great experience, we have met a lot of people who share the same values and lifestyle, we've learned an awful lot in succeeding at this new life and had a ton of fun too. AND, it's not over yet! We're kind of dreading going back to work, we're ready to get started. Last night, late, we sent out 7 resumes to prospective employers. This morning we got two calls (emails) and two other resume reviews. One call in particular was very interesting, in the Sierra Nevada Mts in California. We've gone back and forth all day with the owner and it looks like we'll do a Skype interview also. Don't know if this is the one but it sure looks good at this point.
AHHHH.... just enjoying a cold beer, again.
Well, we're gonna try and down load some pics but so far we haven't had any luck, stay tuned, we'll figure this out eventually......

The Scenic route in Iowa City, IA

Picked up the motor home around noon yesterday, then headed out.  Destination, Iowa City, IA.  We planned on parking and shopping at Walmart.  Google directions were to get on I80 and take exit 246.  Walmart should be 1.4 miles off the interstate.  NOT.  That put us right into the residential area around the college.  Tight streets and low branches.  No where to turn around.  UGH!!  I called the Walmart and got Lee on the phone he very kindly and with much patience got us on the right track to Walmart.  Unfortunately, they are converting to a Super Walmart so no parking and very little groceries.  We stopped anyway, and got a few things then went down the street about a mile to a Menard's and camped for the night. 

We are now back on I80 headed to Utica, IL to camp at Hickory Hollow Campground for the night.  We hope to get a full hookup so we can do some housekeeping and rest and try to get the Auburn game.
Mike is going to need to get on the roof and make sure we didn't do any damage on those low trees in Iowa City. 

Goshen Indiana or Bust tomorrow to meet up with classmates.

Finished in Sioux Falls!

Yesterday morning it didn't seem we would ever get to the end of the waiting in lines and paper work. It all went smoothly though, all of the administrators commented on how well the paper work was filled out and in order, they just don't know my Mo, a very detailed lady.We finished up about 2pm and decided to get some lunch and then bike and run the greenway trail that Sioux Falls has built going all the way around the city. We had seen portions of it here and there and got a map showing it.We decided to do about 1/3 of the trail, starting at the butterfly park and going to the falls in town and then back.I would run and Mo would bike. We went to the park and I changed and then we both realized that we couldn't take the bikes off the car, we, I had locked them on and the key was on the MoHo keychain. O well, it was cold and looking like rain so Mo was willing to forfiet her ride. She took me into town and we visited the falls and she left me there to run the trail back around the city to our motel, she would go back and start straightening out the paper mess but first do a little therapudic shopping. The falls were really cool, they are right in the middle of town and the city has made the whole area into a huge park. There's no way we could spend a winter here but the city has made it very apealing with all the parks and greenway. I took off running, not knowing how far it would be and the dark clouds were building to boot.It was a beautiful route with deer within 10 ft away, obviously used to seeing people on the trail. The rain started and it got a bit cold but it was a good run, I figure, based on time, it was +/- 14 miles. Enough about running. We ate dinner at 'Johnny Carinos' Italian food, it was good but we could only eat about 1/2 so we have lunch for today. We were both tired so we went back to the room and were in bed by 8pm!
Today..........
we packed up and got on the road at 8am heading back to pick up the MoHo.O yeah, I wa going to tell about the interesting info we found out .....
Well as we were doing some paper work at the insurance company, I was looking at the bill of sale on the Winnebago. I noticed in the purchase price colum a 3200.oo charge. I made a mental note to look closer to see just what that was for later. When we got back I pulled out the bill of sale and looked at it and it was in fact an extended warranty.Mo said she had noticed that also and was wondering about it. We called Camping World where we bought it and it was indeed an extended warranty. What a God send! We were expecting to have to pay out of pocket for anything that was done, maybe this would cover some of it. I called Winnebago and they said they would like to have known it to begin with since it required signatures. They called the warranty co and faxed us the papers to sign and proceeded with the work under the warranty. Of course not all of it is covered but some is so it will help. The crazy thing is, we didn't even realize we had this warranty. We figure that when we bought it the warranty really wasn't explained and since we bought the coach and didn't pick it up until a month later, we just forgot we ever had it! While I was running the service dept called and said the camera was covered as was the washing machine, however, the moter for the washer had to be overnighted and we would be responsible for the 120.00 shipping costs. we declined and we'll deal with it when we get back to Bella Terra.
We're now on the way back and don't know what the charges will be but surely not as much as it would have been. We'll be glad to get back in or home!

Well here we go, another day.
Yesterday after we arrived in Sioux Falls we got right down to business. First we found where our mailbox is located and met the people who run the operation. interesting...... it's a small mom and pop business with the daughter sorting the mail. Luckily we have just about eliminated all snail mail we just need the address. Then we went to the motel and checked in and our new bank was right across the street so we opened a checking account. Its a small bank and of course Mo hit it off right away since she is so good at banking and understanding the lingo. We went from there to the insurance man and got the car and MoHo insurance and actually saved about 600$ plus upped the coverage. Things are looking good so far. Lo and behold, the mall was right across the street from the insurance place. We went and walked the mall and that made Mo happy, she got to shop in a new town!! Now you wouls think that this being a western state there would be some good steak served here. NOT! there was just the usual chains so we went to Texas roadhouse and got a Steak and a beer. Actually it was pretty good and we went back to the motel full and satified that the day went well.

Now we have another day of applications and business dealings. Today we visit the DMV and the court house. it should be interesting. The weather is absolutly beautiful, a bit cool but not bad at all.
We found out some interesting info late yesterday about the MoHo that I'll have to figure out how to explain later. So stay tuned......

Nose Bleed!!

Holy Cow! We're so high up on the map we're getting altitude sickness. ;)
Today we left the coach at Winnebago to get the work done, at least we hope to. We'll see how much is under warrenty and how much the rest costs in real dollars. It was hard to see a serviceman drive it off around behind the building. But now we're heading across the north plains to S. Dakota in the car. The wind is blowing straight out of the west, hard, with grey clouds moving across the sky. The country is really beautiful, lots of farms with corn and maybe soybeans? There are literally thousands and thousands of acres of corn. It must be for methanol fuel since it is left on the stalk to brown before harvesting. (What do I know, though?) Another thing that is really cool here is the windmill farms. These are HUGE windmils and we'll pass by an area that will have 50 - 60 windmills all turning at the same rate, then we'll pass by another field a few miles futher on. Makes sense to me, why don't we have them along the coast? We had to put a cover on the bed last night! it got cold! Today we're wearing jeans and long sleeves and a coat when we're outside. The temp is probably only 55 - 65 but the wind chill seems colder, We just aren't, and don't want to be, used to cold. Who knows though, we just might end up in an area that is cold for part of our season.
Later.....

That first night in the Wal-mart parking lot in Batesville was not sleeping friendly.  It was next door to a hospital that had a heliport for lifeflight.  That was one busy helicopter.  Anyway, got on the road after eating breakfast at Crackobarro (that's what our grandson Ollie calls it) and landed in Moscow Mills, MO.  We stayed at a campground about 2 miles off of State Hwy 61 called Sunrise RV park.  This was a very quiet park way off the Hwy.  Mostly pipefitters and their families live here.  Everyone was very friendly and quiet.  We both had a great nights sleep.  Went to Mass the next morning at Sacred Heart in Troy, MO about 10 minutes away from the campground.  Beautiful family church and school.  Fr. Tom had a great homily relating to Labor Day and the job crisis in America.  Thank you Fr. Tom and God Bless America.  Back to the Campground after church and packed up and headed out.  I just want to note here that Hwy 61 through MO is an exellent road to travel.  Anyway, we arrived for our third night in Evansdale, IA.  We stayed in Deer Park campground.  This is a city park right on the river.  This being Labor Day weekend we weren't sure we could get in, but there were plenty of spots and cheap.  The best part of this park for us was it had access to greenway trails in the area.  Mike finally got to run.  Next stop Forest City, IA. 

September 3, 2010

Well, here we go on our biggest trip yet. Left Foley, AL this morning This is the first day of our first leg of our 3week tour. First leg of our journey is to Forest City, Iowa to drop off the Tour for repairs. Then on to South Dakota to register, then back to Forest City to pick up the motor home. Then on to Goshen, Indiana for the 2010 Escapade.


Have been looking for another Bike Car Trunk carrier and found one on Craigs Lists in Columbia, MS of all places. Great deal could not pass up. So we headed out towards MS, picked up the bike racks and hit I55. Going to try to get to Batesville to overnight. I 55 is pretty rough in some areas but most interstates are. onon