Saturday, August 31, 2013, Charleston, WV

We got up, had coffee and left Decatur at 9 AM for the 280 mile trip to Charleston.  We were on US 33 a lot of the way which was sometimes four lane divided highway and sometimes not.  Once in West Virginia we picked up I-77 and headed south to the turn off to the Rippling Waters Church of God Campground.  I had called them yesterday and they assured me they had a spot for me, back-in with 30 amp service.

The Middle Fork road seemed narrower than in the past, we arrived at the park at about 2:30 and checked in.  I then went to check the assigned site.  It was way too short and all grass which was wet from a rain earlier in the day.  It also sloped to one side and I was pretty sure that the jacks wound sink into the soft ground.  The only person working was a teenage girl.  I asked her about another site with a concrete pad that was vacant, she said it was reserved.  I also asked if there was just someplace to park until a site opened up Monday afternoon.  She said no.

 I called a KOA in Huntington and they were also fully booked.  I hooked the Jeep back up and we headed on to Charleston hoping to park overnight at a Walmart or the like. On the way into Charleston, Lottie called Gerri and told her that Eddie had gotten permission to park at a local funeral home and to park by the white picket fence.  As we turned off onto the ramp going to the funeral home Gerri spotted a Cabela's sign.  So we decided to try that.  It was near the Walmart on the highway to South Charleston and more secluded than the Walmart.  The RV parking area had only three spots and all were full and the pavement was on a severe slope.  At the rear of the building was a large, circular area.  I went inside and asked if we could park there overnight and was told it would probably be alright.  I parked so the large slide would be over grass when we extended it.  I left a note on the door with Eddie's phone number in case a problem came up.

We were entertained by deer in Ed's backyard after dinner

After parking we headed to cousin Eddie and Lottie's house. about  11 miles away.  We visited with them and had BBQ sandwiches.  We made plans to return tomorrow after Church and grill rib eye steaks for supper.

We returned to Cabela's at about 9:30.  I put out the large slide and set the genset to automatic.  It was 87 in the coach and humid.  I set the air conditioning units on 80.  The part of the lot where we are parked is secluded enough that no one should be disturbed with the genset running.  It should go off after the air conditioning units don't demand power.  We shall see.  We are also hoping that it cools off enough to sleep with out the A/C units.

Friday, August 30, 2013, Decatur, OH

With no work to be done this morning, I slept in.  I got up at 8:30.  I decided not to make coffee in the coach, instead opting to get coffee in the customer's lounge.  By 10 I had my bill totaled up and paid.  The only thing left to be done is the toilet control.  They will ship that to the house and I will get it installed later.

I went to the hospital after I settled our bill.  The doctor hadn't come around yet, so we still didn't know when Gerri would be released.  We decided that I would go get fuel for the motorhome.  Last week diesel at the Murphy Station in Celina was $3.62 a gallon.  The price has gone up 30 cents in the last couple days, I guess to gouge motorists over the holiday weekend.

Last night I had supper at the El Camino Real.  I asked for Tapatio. They didn't have Chulula either.  They brought me Joe's Hot Sauce.  It was good and when I read the label it was made here in Decatur.  While I went for fuel Gerri also asked me to pickup some Fiber 1 bars and some of the hot sauce.  I got the bars at Kroger.  I went to the restaurant and asked where to buy the sauce.  They said the only place that sold it was the clubhouse at the local golf club.  I went there and bought two bottles.

After getting fuel in the coach I went back to the Service Center and re-parked the coach. Gerri called at about two and told me she was being released.  I went to the hospital and by 3:15 we were on the way to get her prescriptions filled.  We went back to the coach and when CVS called I went and picked up the prescriptions. By then it was after 5.  We decided to stay here in Decatur and leave in the morning for West Virginia.  I did call Rippling Waters and made sure that they had room for us.  It will be a back-in site with only 30 amp power.

For supper I went to Arnold's and picked up burgers.

Some computer time, TV and we called it a night.

Thursday, August 29, 2013, Decatur, IN

Up at 5 again this morning.  I got the coach ready to move and Neil came and took it into the shop at 6.  Only a couple of things left to do;  remove and replace the awning after repairing the stitching. and replace the control for the rear toilet.

I visited Gerri.  She has less pain but the intestinal problems hang on.  The hospitalist came by.  She thought it best to take another x-ray and continue the antibiotics the rest of today and release her tomorrow if things go well.  I left the hospital and a little later was called back to pay the man who stitched up the awning.  At the end of the work day everything was done except the toilet control.  I checked with the service writer to make sure I don't have to get up early in the morning, I don't.  Trouble is in the morning they will have the bill ready.  They will ship the toilet control to Las Vegas and I'll get that installed later.

I went back to visit Gerri at 3 PM, but she was a sleep.  I stayed about 20 minutes but didn't wake her.

I went back to the coach for awhile and went back to the hospital.  After visiting for awhile I went to the El Camino Real Mexican Restaurant for supper.  It was better than the restaurants we had been to lately.

Back at the coach I talked with a few neighbors and retired to our coach.  After an episode of Gunsmoke I went to bed.  Even though I can sleep in, I ended up going to bed an hour or so earlier than usual.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013, Decatur, IN

I got up at 5 AM with the alarm, I wanted to be ready in case they came for the coach.  Properly at 6 AM Mike was at the door.  I think it's a sign that you have been at the service center too long when you get on first name basis with the techs.

After the coach went in I got a briefing of what was happening, we have a way to go yet.  I decided to have breakfast at the Community Market.  As I headed there I was traveling directly east.  The sun came up as a huge red ball.  I see more sunsets than sunrises so I was quite impressed.  At the restaurant in the Community Market I had biscuits and gravy with two eggs.  The food hit the spot and the coffee was very good.

When I went to the hospital, Gerri was feeling a little better.  A nurse came in and talked to us about the possibility of a colonoscopy.  She said that a doctor would be around later to talk to Gerri about that.

After I left the hospital I went to find some caches.  Both were in cemeteries.  I couldn't find a road to get to the first and found the second one easily.

Back at the service center, I talked to the tech and found out that there were only a few items still to go.  They will remove the awning over the full slide tomorrow and send it out to be restitched.  They are still waiting for the control panel for the rear toilet.  Work ends today at 4:30 PM.

Back to the hospital.  Both the hospitalist and the surgeon had seen Gerri.  At this point the plan is to keep treating her to get rid of the inflammation and then release her with a prescription for antibiotics but no colonoscopy was advised at this stage while she is still healing.

Back at Camp Decatur I visited with some neighbors, watched some TV and was in bed by 11:30 with an alarm set for 5 AM..

Tuesday, August 27, 2013, Decatur, IN

Either Iwas sleeping soundly or there weren't as many coaches that started moving at 6 AM.  Maybe that should have been a clue.  At nine a technition called and told us that they were ready to statr work on our coach. I had been up for awhile but we had to hustle and get the coach ready to move.  We had put out the carpets, coffee table, etc.  In other words we were set for living not moving.

Once in the shop gerri waited in the customer lounge and I walked through my list with a couple of techs.  They got started on the coach and I grabbed some coffee.

Gerri wasn't feeling any better.  We had already decided that if she wasn't better today she would go see a doctor.  By ten we were at the emergency room of the local hospital.  The doctor ordered some tests that were going to take an hour or so before they started them.  I made some phone calls letting Gerri's Mother know what was going on.

One of the techs called and gave me an update on what they were going to do, check the adjustment on the large slide and take the topper awning off and repair some torn stitching and replace it on the roller properly. They were going to take care of replacing the seals on the slides and check out some other problems.

I left the hospital and ran a few errands, including going back to the coach and taking my medicine.  The tech told be they were working until 4:30 today and would repark the coach in our assigned spot.

Gerri called and told me that she was being admitted and gave me a room number.  I went back to the hospital arriving at the room just after Gerri did.  The doctors wanted her ther a couple of days.  The test showed several pockets of infection but no perforations.  The treatment planned was pain relief and antibiotics to clear up the infections.

I got back to Fleetwood at about 4:50.  I don't know how much the got done.  The bedroom sliding doors were fixed and the topper awning on the large slide seemed to be tauter.  The only obvious item left undone was thew seals on the inside of the large slide, the front passenger  side slide  and the control panel for the rear toilet.  The part for the toilet control panel had been ordered after we arive here on Friday.

I spoke to a couple of our neighbors and there was a gathering of about 20 discussing coach travails and swapping stories.  That meeting lasted until dark.

I talked to Gerri on the phone.  She had slept some and wasn't feeling any worse.  I grAttesome chees and fixed myself some quesadillas for supper.  Afte that I watched some TV and caught up on Facebook and e-mail.  Not knowing what time the tech wanted the coach in the morning, I set an alarm for 5 AM and went to beat abound 11.

Monday, August 26, 2013, Decatur, IN

We are drop ins here at the Fleetwood Service Center.  But we still were awakened by the sound of diesel engines before six.  The techs start to take those coaches into the shop that have appointments at 6 AM.  Since we are drop ins that didn't include us.  Since we were awake I made coffee.  Gerri is feeling worse with her diverticulitis problem.  She took prescribed medication and stayed in bed and slept most of the day and evening.

I downloaded another ten nearby caches and went out and found five.  On the way home I stopped at Walmart for a few items including another runner for under the dinette table. I gassed up the Jeep at at he Murphy Station at Walmart.  There is a 3 cent discount for using a Walmart gift card.  An interesting side bar is that Ask about buying a cash card at the Walmart in Celina and using my Master Card to pay for it.  The manager told me that that wasn't allowed by law.  I didn't press her on the statute number.  Later I went back to the same store for a couple of items and told the cashier I wanted a $500 cash card she loaded the card and I swiped my Master Card.  The lesson is ask a worker not a stupidvisor.

After gassing up the Jeep I stopped  by the Fleetwood Parts Department and picked up a new water filter cartridge.  I then went by the service department to see if there was any idea when the coach might go in the shop.  They still had no idea except maybe Wednesday.

Back at the coach Gerri was still in bed.  I found the water filter case wrench and started to replace the filter.  You do know that with me no job is easy, don't you?  The filter was way beyond the hand tightened that the instructions recommend.  When I got it loose I realized from the spray in my face that I had forgotten to turn the water off before starting the job.  Do you realize how long it takes the message to get from the face to the brain and to the finger that has to turn of the water pump?  Needless to say I was soaked by the time I got the filter apart.  After my soaking the job was easy and with no incident.

Gerri had been on a liquid diet all day, water cranberry juice and chicken broth.  I made my supper from things I found in the fridge.

I was in bed by 11.

Sunday, August 25, 2013, Decatur, IN

Gerri and I were both up most of the night with some sort of stomach problems.  I finally got back to sleep and was in bed until 10 AM.

We had our coffee and stayed around the coach until time for Church services.  We tuned into the services from Oakey Blvd. via the internet.  The connection was poor but we managed to hear the singing and Randy's message and participate in the Lord's Supper.

I forgot to write in yesterday's blog that I went to get ice and the handle pulled loose on our new refrigerator .  After Church I figured out how it fastened to the drawer. Once I knew how to fasten the handle on and had the proper tools it was a pretty easy fix.

In the afternoon we went to Walmart and picked up some new throw rugs and runners, including  a floor mat to protect the carpet by my computer area.

Some time in the late afternoon I decided to go out and try to find a few geocaches.  I had downloaded the closest 10 and found two on Saturday, today I found four and didn't find one.  I also hadn't searched for one that was off in the woods through high weeds and didn't look for another that hadn't been found for awhile.  That only left one on my list and it was getting dark.  The cache was in a cemetery which is only open during the day time.

On the way back to the coach I called Gerri and we decided that I would pick up burgers and fries at Arnold's Drive In.  Arnold's is a 50's style drive in with car hops on skates.    I choose the "Blue Moon" a hamburger with bacon and blue cheese.  The burger was good, but not in the same class as the Copper Kettle in Dubuque, IA or Schuler's in Marshall, MI.

Arnold's Drive In, Decatur, IN

We tuned in to the evening service from Oakey Blvd. until the connection got too bad to tolerate.  Gerri went to the bedroom early and watched TV.  I watched some recorded westerns and went to bed at about 11.

Saturday, August 24, 2013, Decatur, IN

We tried to sleep in this morning.  I succeeded and didn't get up until 8:30.  I fixed coffee and caught up on e-mail and Facebook.

Yesterday when we got here I was in a hurry to get signed in on the drop in list.  We set up and plugged in.  Later we realized we should have dumped the sewer tanks.  That was our first order of business this morning.  We unplugged and drove the short distance to the dump station.  There was another coach ahead of us and instead of maneuvering into the other one or drive to the one a few blocks away, I choose to wait.  After dumping the sewer tanks and filling the fresh water tank we went back and parked.  We decided that since it would be several days before any work was done we would get fully set up, carpets and coffee table etc. out.  Before doing that we needed to clean up.  Gerri dusted and vacuumed.  I shook out the throw rugs and mopped the tile floors.

In the afternoon we drove to Sullivan's to see if they had a water filter cartridge.  The parts department was closed so we decided to do some geocaches.  On the way to the third one we noticed activity around the courthouse, it was a combination flea market/farmer's market.  

We parked and checked it out.  It was late in the afternoon and the activity had already peaked.  It had been very warm walking around so we scraped the caching and went back to the coach.

As it has a way of doing, time passed and soon it was supper time.  We had left over steak with mushrooms and the left over squash from a few nights ago.  We also finished up the watermelon.

After supper I took a walk around the lot and spoke with another customer from New Hampshire.  Meeting good people is an enjoyable part of part of the RV lifestyle.  Yesterday I visited with a nice couple from Vancouver, BC.  They headed home today.  They had been here to repair damages from meeting a low railroad bridge.

When I got back from my walk, Gerri was getting ready for bed.  She went to bed watching a movie on the Lifetime Channel.  I stayed up and watched some Gunsmoke episodes that had been recorded before calling it at a night.

Friday, August 23, 2013, Decatur, IN

We were up at 7 and I started the coffee.  We knew Kevin and John planned to install the new leveling jack this morning, but didn't know if they were going to do the job inside the garage or where the coach was parked.  As it turned out we didn't have to move.

Kevin finished the work on the charging system for the house batteries.  We will see if we can park overnight without shore power.  The leveling jack removal and re-installation was a two man job and required me to help get the new jack in place, lift and hold it into position with a floor jack while Kevin and John got bolts into it..

Kevin briefed again on the operation of the genset on automatic.  He then did the hard part, at least for us.  He figured up our bill.  Between Spartan and Kevin's shop we actually got a lot of things done, both routine maintenance, repairs and modifications.

We decided that adjustment of the large slide out room and its topper awning couldn't wait.  After settling up with Kevin and hooking up we drove the 36 miles to the Fleetwood service center in Decatur, IN.  

Adams County Courthouse, Decatur, IN

We got there at about 1:30 and I got our name on the drop in list for next week.  We really don't expect anything to open up until at least Wednesday.  The plan is to shorten some of the stops we planned working our way down the east coast to Ft. Lauderdale.

We had the left overs from Casa Rodriguez for dinner,  The meal at the restaurant was just OK, as left overs it wasn't that good.

Even though we don't expect work until later next week we didn't fully set up, we will have to dump the holding tanks in the morning.  After that we will put out the carpets, coffee table and other comfort items.

 We were both tired and were in bed by a little after 10 PM.

Thursday, August 22,2013, Celina, OH

We were up and ready for any work to start while we had our coffee and caught up on e-mail and Facebook.  Our mail had come a couple of days ago and I finished going through it and mailed the only two things that needed attention, of course that had to do with Obamacare.  What a pain that is becoming.

The metal strikers (plungers) for the bay doors came in and John installed those on all but the three bay doors that we use the least.  Kevin miscounted and we were six short.

I took the Samsung TV back to Walmart, it only had a black and white picture.  The box that I took the Samsung back to Walmart in was in a Vizio box.  The clerk that checked the serial number remarked that yesterday a woman returned a Vizio TV in a Samsung box.  I knew that had to be Marla and now I knew what happened to my Samsung box.  It hadn't been a good week for TVs at Cruising America.  I had to drive to another Walmart in Wapokeneta to buy another.  This time I bought a Vizio.  That means we will have another control to use.

At about noon Gerri and I drove to Decatur to pick up the replacement leveling jack from Fleetwood parts  It rained pretty heavily all the way there and pack.  It's a good thing we had the wiper blades replaced on the coach.  During the trip to Decatur we discovered that the wiper blades on the Jeep also need replaced.

Kevin got the new TV installed and working.  The new TV is a 39" compared with a 32" screen on the old one.  The overall measurements were the same so the space is filled nicely.

We spent most of the rest of the afternoon watching it rain.  We decided to go to Casa Rodriguez for dinner at about 6:30.  The food was OK, a lot better than La Carretta, but still not great.  We had a coupon for 1/2 off an appetizer with two dinners.  We had a plate with  a variety of items, Jalapeno poppers, cheese balls, nachos and a small quesadilla.  We ate all of that and when dinner came we only ate small portions of that.  We are building up our left overs stock again.  It's a good thing we both like leftovers.

After getting back to Kevin's we visited with Gene and Betty for awhile.  We wanted to see the final result of the installation of an induction cook top.  Very nice, the cook top only heats the pans, no flame or heating elements.  The cook top was installed so they could still use the old covers and so they still have the clean look of a full counter top.  Gene and Betty are moving to a nearby town to have the front cap of their coach repainted, so we said our goodbyes to another pair of new friends.

I also placed a geocache near Kevin's shop for other RV'ers that are also geocachers.  The cache is awaiting approval from the local reviewer.

Hopefully we can finish up here at Kevin's tomorrow and move on.

Again Gerri went to bed about an hour before me, I was in bed by 11.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013, Celina, OH

We got up at 7 and waited until 8, no one came for the coach.  We finished our coffee and did the Internet catch up.

The parts to fix the awning over the door came in.  John worked on that and Kevin installed the new TV.  The awning installation went well but the TV only came in with black and white.  Meanwhile the DirecTV started acting up again with the sound going off every few seconds and then coming back on.  I had called Direct about this yesterday and rebooting the system solved the problem.  I tried that three times with no luck,  I was on the phone with Direct for about an hour and finally convinced them that I needed a new receiver.  After some discussion they agreed to send a tech out.  They even had a service window available from noon to four.  The tech arrived and eventually agreed to install a new receiver.  He made sure the DVR feature was working and stayed around to make sure the sound interruptions didn't occur.  

Kevin had checked the new TV in his shop with a newer DVD player and found it to be working.  He reinstalled it in the motorhome and it didn't work.  He will check the connection tomorrow.  

Gerri turned on the the DVR to watch a Roy Rogers movie.  The problem with the sound was back.  After Kevin gets the connection fixed we may have to replace the front TV too.  That is a problem for another day.

Kevin invited us and the other customers to join him at the Moose Lodge for Wild Wings Wednesday. Gerri was having problems with her back so we declined.  Ron and Barbara had also declined the wings and Ron came over while we were sitting outside and we had a nice visit,  Gene came over after they got back from the Moose Lodge.  During talk about where we were all going next I realized that this was the last week I had allocated for repairs in this area.  All of our parts won't be in and we don't have any time next week for a drop in at the Fleetwood Service Center in Decatur, IN.  Our plan at this point is that after Kevin finishes with the new TV we will go to Decatur and see if we can get in on Friday.. If not those things on our list for Fleetwood will be put off until another time.  As for the things at Kevin's that are awaiting parts,  I will try to make time for them the first of next year when he is in Palm Springs, CA or Quartzsite, AZ.

Ron and Barbara plan to pull out early tomorrow so we said our goodbyes to them tonight.  Gene and Betty plan to move over to the fair grounds to dump their sewer and stay there a couple of nights while they get some painting done.  The group we have enjoyed so much here at Kevin's Camp is breaking up.

Blood moon rising over Celina

The moon was full tonight and there was a haze around it when it came up. My pictures don't do it justice.

With her back problems Gerri went to bed early and I stayed up until about 11:00 PM

Tuesday, August 20, 2013, Celina, OH

We didn't set an alarm this morning. We didn't think anything was going to be done to our coach this morning.  Wrong!  John was sat our door at at 8 AM.  We were up having our coffee but Gerri wasn't dressed.  After we quickly got ready, John took the coach into the shop and started on the step installation.  I described the electrical problem to Kevin.  After some testing he determined the the electrical source manager was bad and replaced it.

Today was wash day.  We took all the clothes and sheets & towels to a laundromat after doing some shopping at the Chief Market.  We need some laundry supplies and grocery items for tonight's supper with the other customers here at Kevin's Camp.  While Gerri got the laundry started I took some of the things that needed refrigeration back to the coach.  I also stopped at a NAPA store to see if they had wiper blades for the motor home.  They didn't and I called Fleetwood and I will have to drive over to Decatur to get them.  I went back to the laundromat and helped Gerri fold the clothes.  Someone had left some type of blue crayon/marker in one of the dryers and some of our wash had blue spots. 

We had decided on keeping the TV in the lounge and will consider remodeling the cabinets later.  We went to Walmart and bought the replacement and some other items for the motorhome.

Back at Kevin's, I met with him and we discussed our list of repairs and remodeling.  Most of the things he could do had been done.  A few items are awaiting parts before they can be finished.  The problems with the slide awning and gaskets will have to be taken to Fleetwood.

Our dinner plans were to meet with the other two couples here for repairs and grill steaks.  We gathered at Gene and Betty's coach, another coach parked just west of theirs provides afternoon and evening shade,  Ronnie and  his wife, Barbara, joined us.  Gerri had marinated some artichoke hearts and Gene grilled them.  Served with a Mexican dip they made delicious hors devours.   We first had these at Wendell's home in Redding and Gerri made an attempt to duplicated them.  Using artificial smoke and other seasonings, they came out great. Gene grilled the steaks and they were served with potatoes and salad that Betty had prepared, Barbara contributed a squash, tomato, and cheese casserole and Gerri had sauteed mushrooms and sliced watermelon.  We had a great meal along with good company.

Gerri went to bed early.  She has been having some back pains.  I stayed up for awhile watching old westerns and went to bed at about 11.





 

Monday,August 19, 2013, Celina, OH

Not much going on in the shop this morning.  John was sick and Kevin had to do a fridge replacement by himself.

We lingered over coffee and later met the couple getting a new fridge this morning.

At 1pm I took the Jeep next door to finish having the 60,000 mile service done.  Our plan was to take the coach to the fairgrounds and dump the sewer.  Before we left Gary Hierholzer came by to measure Gene and Betty's stove for the trim.  Gary is the cabinet maker here in Celia that does work as needed by Kevin's customers.  We had him measure and give us some ideas on changing the area that has held the lounge TV.  It's hard to visualize what the area will look like with a cabinet.  We are leaning toward just replacing the TV until we see some thing some one else has done.

At the fairgrounds I had to figure out how to use the frost proof faucet.  Then I had to clean up a previous dumpers mess.  I thought I shouldn't have to pay after the cleanup.  We got back to Kevin's at about 4:30.  I finished cleaning the area above the large slide out. We were invited over to Gene and Betty's.  We sat around and talked with two other couples here for repairs.  I missed the closing time at the Jeep dealership and will have to pick up the Jeep tomorrow.

 Before supper I cleaned the area above the passenger side slides.   We had left overs from last night.

Something was going wrong with the power and I had to start the generator to cool of the coach before dinner and later after turning off the generator the control panel was reading a fault.  I turned off the air conditioners after the coach cooled down.

Gerri was tired and went to bed early.  I followed her after about a half an hour.

Sunday, August 18, 2013, Celina, OH

Another chance to sleep in, I forced myself to stay in bed until 8:30.  We didn't have much planned for the day.  After coffee and computer time I started cleaning the outside of the coach..  I started with the front above the windshield.  That area is black and seems to catch every bug that comes along.  I used the "Solution" and got it looking good.  Then I washed the windshield with water and a scrubbing cloth and then cleaned the water spots with the "Solution."  Below the windshield is another area that catches a lot of bugs. After cleaning that and the fronts of the mirrors I moved onto the rear of the coach.  That area doesn't catch bugs but instead catches all the road grime.

At 1:00 PM I took a break from the cleaning and we tuned into the worship services from Oakey Boulevard.  I went back to my cleaning after Church.  I finished most of the passenger's side before dinner. Gerri fixed fish, potatoes and Brussel sprouts with sliced tomatoes on the side.
After dinner we visited with our neighbors Gene and Betty until it was time for them to fix their dinner.  Jim and Jeannie had left earlier and are spending the night at the fairgrounds after getting some work finished on their coach and doing laundry..

I finished cleaning the parts of the coach I could reach without taking in the slides. and called that a job done until I can finish tomorrow.  We had originally planned to buy a new TV to install in the rear of the coach living area, but Gerri is now considering leaving that TV out and having a cabinet installed that will leave her some more counter space to use and gain some cabinet space both under and over the counter.

We watched some TV and Gerri turned in before 9:30.  I tuned in Church services from Oakey Blvd. but the connection was bad and I gave it up and called it a night at 10:30..

Sunset over Grand Lake - Picture from Internet 

Saturday, August 17, 2013, Celina, OH

We had a chance to sleep in this morning. I slept in till 7:30, Gerri got up a little earlier.  We had our coffee and our usual computer stuff.

I got the new TV back into the box and we headed for Walmart.  Gerri picked up some groceries while I returned the TV.  The clerk in the electronics department called the Walmart and Sam's Club in Lima but got no definitive answer whether or not they had a 40" smart Samsung.  We plan to go to Lima tomorrow and check them out ourselves.  The trip to Walmart took the rest of the morning and the early afternoon,

We hung out around the coach most of the afternoon.  I did go out and look for a couple of geocaches.  I found one of them.  They were both along a walking/bike trail that runs from Celina to Coldwater.  Coldwater is about eight miles southwest of Celina, I don't know if the trail goes anywhere else.  The trail itself is built ether on an old road bed or old railroad track, it runs mostly parallel to the newer railroad tracks.  I have done other caches along sections of the path in past years.

The main reason we didn't go to Lima today was that Kevin has planned a cookout here at his shop for 5:30 this evening.  There are two other couples here and another customer from Pennsylvania here to pick up his coach.  We picked up a watermelon and sliced it for the cookout.  There were ten of us at the cookout counting Kevin, his wive Marla and their employee John.  Kevin grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and Marla prepared a potato dish, a pasta salad and trimmings for the hamburgers and dogs.  With every one's contributions and the company we all had a great meal and great company.

After the party with all hands pitching in the area was cleaned up and during conversation people drifted back to their coaches.  This year it has gotten quite cool after dark and not all of us are used to that.

It was about 11 o'clock when Gerri and I went to bed.

Friday, August 16, 2013, Celina, OH

After making the coffee this morning I drove the Jeep to a dealership nearby for my appointment for oil change and tire rotation.  I walked back to Kevin's just before they moved our couch into the shop.  We used the lounge to catch up on e-mail and Facebook.  We stayed in the lounge until about 10:30.  The internet was so slow Gerri could hardly get anything done.  I walked back to the Jeep dealership and picked up the Jeep.  They pointed out a few other items that needed done.  I made an appointment for Monday afternoon to have some of those addressed.  The biggest thing needing attention is wheel alignment.  There is unusual wear on the tires that were on the front.

I picked Gerri up and we headed for the library.  Yesterday we had a late lunch at La Carretta and didn't have an evening meal, so we decided to go somewhere for breakfast.  We settled on the Pullman Bay Restaurant along the lake shore.  Grand Lake St. Marys is a large man made lake and is referred to as Ohio's other Great Lake.  Some information I saw once that it took 5,000 men to dig the lake by hand.  reportedly it has an average depth of 5'.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Lake_St._Marys_State_Park.  It is pretty but they are experiencing a lot of problems with algae.

We had breakfast but Pullman Bay's specialty seems to be pies.  They even have pie happy hours from 2-4 every day.  After eating I took Gerri to the library to take advantage of the faster internet service.  My intention was to go geocaching.  I did but the closest cache was a multi-cache in the library.  I don't usually do multi-caches but hey, it was right there.  The name of the cache is "Dewey Cache?  Of Course We Do! The first way point hint lead to a Dewey Decimal shelf in the non-fiction area.  There I found a sign with the geocaching logo referring me to the reference shelve to find the proper book. I had to ask a librarian where the reference desk was located, she pointed it out and I found the book with the correct Dewey Decimal. The Book was titled "The Joy of Geocaching."

The clue in that book was to find the card catalog computer and press Alt-G.  Again I had to ask which were the card catalog computers.  Following those instructions resulted in a screen saying that Hedwick holds the clue and that he is in the Harry Potter series.  With that info I went to the fiction section and looked for J.K. Rowling.  I didn't find any books by her, strange.  The librarian came to my rescue and told me the Harry Potter books are in the juvenile section.  She and I are becoming good friends.  In the Juvenile section I started searching all the Rowling books, no good results.  The librarian to the rescue.  How was I to know that Hedwick was an owl.  A toy owl was hanging from the ceiling and held the next clue  I met the cache owner who also works at the library.  The next clue was to find gold in the library's mineral display.  I must mention here that the mineral display has over 7000 specimens and that I soon found out that they were not in any particular order.  The display cases run along one entire wall of the building and along a center area.  I never realized there were so many "ites" in the world.  I came to the point where the display cases intersect and decide to continue along the wall.  Wrong choice, gold was in the first cabinet in the other line.  The clue here was another Dewey Decimal reference.  It was upstairs in the fiction section, fortunately it was also the final leg of the cache.  The end cache was a hollowed out book with a log book and pencil inside.  It was a fun search.

I did two other caches.  One was a DNF from July of 2011.  I found it right away and can't believe that was what I was looking for two years ago since it was a typical magnetic container under one of the metal step treads.

I returned to Kevin's and since one of the items on my list of repairs was to replace the TV in the lounge area we took measurements and I headed to Walmart to buy the replacement.  The old TV was a 32" screen, so that is what I bought.  Turns out that the overall size of the new TV is much smaller and didn't look good once it was in place.  Tomorrow I will pack it up and see if I can return it and buy a larger unit.

After Kevin closed up shop we visited with a couple of our neighbors until they were ready to fix dinner.  Gerri and I both were still not hungry after our big breakfast at noon time.  We did have some snacks later before retiring for the night.

Thursday, August 15, 2013, Celina, OH

The old is out, John checking the space

We had the alarm set for 7 AM.  When we got up it was 64° in the bedroom.  Very comfortable temperature for sleeping but we had to be up.  We didn't know what our schedule was to be.  John came at a little after eight wanting to take the coach into the shop. We were originally scheduled to be here yesterday.  The plan was to start with the largest job first so we could stay in the coach during the evening.

The old fridge out of the coach, it took four men to maneuver it 

The first order of business was to empty the Norcold.  Kevin had a fridge and freezer available for this purpose.  To get the old fridge out and the new one in through the door they had to remove the screen door, the front seats and the overhead TV.  While John and Kevin removed the Norcold and installed the new Samsung, Gerri and I waited in the lounge.  Our internet connection wasn't good but we managed to catch up e-mail and Facebook.  Gerri's games were a different story.

High tech protection was in place to protect the woodwork

During the removal of the Norcold and installation of the Samsung, I took pictures and have included some of the key ones.  Most of the rest are on my wall on Facebook.

Gerri and I drove down to the Kozy Korner Kampground to see if we wanted to go to there over the weekend for the full hook ups.  After checking it out we decided that we would stay at Kevin's and dump at the fair grounds as needed.  After checking out the RV park we went to the La Carretta Mexican Bar and Grill for a late lunch.  This has been out favorite restaurant in Celina for years.  We were disappointed in the food.  We had always raved about the fare here, but this year it wasn't up to the standard we expected.

Ready to install

After lunch I dropped Gerri off at the library so she could have a better internet connection.  I went back to Kevin's and loaded some nearby geocaches on my GPSR's.  I also went by the nearby Jeep dealership and made an appointment for service on tire rotation at 8 AM tomorrow.

t only took about an hour to get to the ideal temp

Kevin and john finished up the installation of the new refrigerator except for some wood trim.  Before picking up Gerri at the library I put our stuff into the new fridge.  I'm sure Gerri will rearrange things later.  The refrigerator section is much larger, but what we had pretty much filled the freezer section.  By the time we got back Kevin was closing up and had our coach out and hooked up at the end of the shop.  We visited with our neighbors, other customers of Kevin's until almost sunset.

All in except the wood trm

Some TV and computer time finished the evening.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013, Celina, OH

When we got up at 6 AM, it was 60 degrees in our bedroom. At about 2:30 I noticed that the power was off in the coach.  I checked and there was no AC power indicated and the battery level was at 11.8 volts  Way too low.  When I got up at 6 I had to start the GenSet to brew our coffee.  Jack picked up the coach at a little after 7.  We went to the customer lounge and caught up on our computer time.

At about 9:45 I went out to find a few caches, I found six and didn't find two.

Our coach was brought out at about noon but it was another hour before our bill was tallied up.  We left Charlotte, MI at 1:30.  The drive to Celina, OH is 139 miles and we should have arrived at about 4:30.. As it turns out in Van Wert, OH I missed a detour sign  A little further down the road there were two semis stopped by three highway patrolmen.  I got past them, none of the three were directing traffic around the stop.  A little further down the road were signs that the road ended due to construction.  The road closed sign was past the last turn around spot at a golf course entrance.  I waited until a truck driver got his semi turned around and unhooked the Jeep.  I had to back up the coach about 300 yards to the golf club entrance.  It wasn't too hard because of the lines on the highway to guide me.  We got the Jeep hooked back up.  A deputy sheriff stopped and gave me directions back to the highway past the road closure.  When we got back to downtown Van Wert  I saw the signs about the detour near the fair grounds.  

I had called Kevin and let him know we wouldn't be there until after he closed.  He told me where to park.  We got to his shop in Celina at 6 Pm and parked and set up at about 7.

I met a couple of our neighbors.  We had a message from Sean yesterday and he had ask that we call him at 7:30.  Since he is in Texas that was 8:30 Eastern time.  It took a while to get connected with Sean.  We had a good conversation.  Sean has become quite a communicator,  he is a pleasure to talk to.  He is set to transfer to a home in Reno, NV on the 26th.  Once there he will be able to visit family on weekends.  Before he leaves Austin, Curtis and family plan to give him a going away party.  As soon as a bed is available he will transfer to a group home in Seattle.

We had our left overs from Schuler's for supper along with corn on the cob left over from Dubuque.

At 11:00 it was bed time.  Kevin opens his shop at 8 AM so we have to get up at 7.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013, Charlotte, MI

We were up at 6 AM so that were could be ready for the technician to take the coach in for service at 7.  I had filled out the paper work yesterday.  I went outside to make sure all the slides went in properly.  I had to go back in and get a jacket.  It had rained quite a bit early yesterday evening and there was a lot of water on the slide toppers and as usual the awning on top of the large slide didn't roll up properly.

The Schuler Hotel

Gerri's French Onion Soup

We drove to Lansing at midday to a Quest Diagnostics to have a followup blood draw to check my coumadin level.  My doctor had me adjust my dose after my test in Redding, CA.

Gerri had an exchange with Brenda Boyce, a coworker from the past, who was born and raised in the nearby town of Marshall, MI.  She recommended Schuler's restaurant.

By 3PM we knew that the service on the coach wasn't going to be finished today. The techs here work 7 AM to 3 PM.  After parking and leveling the coach, we decided to go with Brenda's suggestion and drove to Marshall for dinner.  Schuler's is a hotel restaurant run by the same family since 1909.  The original hotel on the site was built in 1892.  The restaurant and hotel have the turn of the century look.  The dining room is large with ornate beams and walls.  There is an adjoining dining area called Winston's that has more of a Pub decor.  Run by the same family, Winston's has pretty much the same menu with more sandwiches and lite fare.

The Winston Brger

Flat bread sticks and cheese were served while we went over the menu. For our dinner we started with soup.  Gerri had French Onion and I had Seafood Chowder.  We both decided to have a burger and fries.  On the menu it is listed as a Winston Burger.  1/3 lb of Angus beef,, strips of bacon, tomato, lettuce and onion served with a tarragon Russian dressing.  We both opted to substitute blue cheese crumbles for the Russian dressing. The fries had some sort of very light batter on them.  Both the burger and fries were delicious.  Since we had the cheese and crackers and soup before the burgers, we only ate half of the burgers.  Guess what is for lunch or dinner tomorrow.

After dinner I tried to find a nearby geocache.  Failing the first one we went a little further away, I did find that one.  Back in Charlotte we relaxed for awhile.  Since it was still light I decided to go for some more geocaches.  I tried the one nearest the Spartan factory.  I didn't find that one but did pick up the next two closest.

While I was logging my finds I got a surprise, a phone call from Ken Beal,  Ken and I had worked together in adult training for Boy Scout leaders.  On the second Wood Badge course I worked he was the Scoutmaster and I was his Senior Patrol Leader.  Ken owns a Newmar coach also built on a Spartan Chassis.  He had been here in Charlotte in June.

We went to bed early, knowing that the tech would be coming for the coach at 7 AM.  Hopefully we will be done by mid morning and get on the road to Celina, OH for the next stage of repair and remodeling.

Monday, August 12, 2013, Charlotte, MI

We only have 250 miles to go today so we didn't set an alarm.  We got up about 7:30 and started our day with coffee and some computer time.  I know you must get the impression that we spend a lot of time on the computer and I guess we do.  We do many things on the computer.  I check our finances; both our credit cards and the credit union.  Even with our lifestyle of traveling we must stay on budget.  We pay most of our bills online and I keep track of those too. E-mail and Facebook also let us keep up with friends and relatives and let them know where we are and how we are doing.

We left Joliet at 9:30 and headed east on I-90.  I have always kept my GPS set to route us around toll roads.  There were some stretches of highway that weren't Interstate.  Of course there were the usual construction zones and one tie up that lasted for an hour or so.  We stopped at one rest area and I found my first Michigan cache for this trip.

We arrived at Spartan Motors in Charlotte, MI at about 2:45.  I checked in with the service department after parking the motorhome.  We have to be ready for the coach to go in at seven.

After a rain storm I went to Walmart to pick up a few items.

Gerri fixed pork chops and corn on the cob for supper.  After some TV and computer time we called it a night at 10::40.  Oh, and then we found out we are now on Eastern time zone.

Sunday, August 11, 2013, Joliet. IL

We were up at eight .  It was light but no sunrise.  The clouds are high and the forecast is for rain later today.  We had our coffee and computer time while watching traffic up and down the river.  A tug went up river pushing ten barges piled high with coal..  From our observations yesterday it will that him hours to go through the locks about two miles upriver.  At the locks the barges will have to be broken down into two sections and go though separately.

We went to Margie's in time to pick her and Sue to get to Sam's Club shortly after they opened.  This Sam's club was laid out differently than most we are used to and seemed to be smaller than the ones we are used to.  After picking up the items on both Margie's and Sue's list, plus other items of opportunity we returned to their apartment tower.  We took the groceries up to Margie's apartment.  After visiting for awhile we said our good byes and went back to the RV park and got ready to travel.. There wasn't much to do, unhook the power cord and retract the leveling jacks.  I backed out of the site turning to the right, an easy turn since our neighbors on the south had already left..  I hooked up the Jeep.  I also talked to my neighbor about towing a vehicle flat and various methods to do so.  My rule of thumb is not to talk to anyone while hooking up, so after our neighbor left I double checked everything.  

View south from the I-80 bridge crossing the Mississippi River.

Our route was south on US-151/Us-62.  It was about 70 miles to I-80.  On I-80 we traveled east to Juliette, IL  We crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois via the I-80 bridge built in 1966.  The river was a little wider than at Dubuque.  Gerri called ahead to the Martin Campground at exit 134.  This is nice RV park just a little off the Interstate.

 I called Todd to wish him happy birthday.  My first child is 49 years old.  Gerri talked to her mother who is at her Flagstaff time share.

We had left over from Catfish Charley's plus corn on the cob that Gerri had bought at the farmer's market in Dubuque.

We tuned in the worship services from Oakey Boulevard on the internet.  Brandon Greene is visiting home from the Memphis School of Preacing and delivered the message.  He is an impressive young preacherof the Gospel.

Some TV and computer time rounded out the evening.

Saturday, August 10, 2013, Dubuque, IA

Since Gerri planned to get up at six, I set an alarm for six.  I didn't know it but she set one for 6:15.  I couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up at 6:30 and made coffee.  Gerri left for the Farmer’s Market at about 6:45.  I raised the front blind and saw clear skies with the sun already over the trees in Wisconsin.  I had my coffee, e-mail and Facebookery.   

I went outside  checked the oil and air levels of all the tires.  Even though I have an air pressure monitoring system I like to do in manually every week or so, it is interesting how much the pressure can start varying.  The entire outside of the coach needs cleaning, but that will wait until we leave this park there is too much dust left over from the flooding.  I forgot to write about that.  When we were in Redding, CA I called here in late July on a Saturday and got a recording dated July 2 saying the park wasn't open yet because of flooding.  I called back on Monday and got a wrong number.  I tried again and was connected properly.  When I checked in yesterday the camp host told me they hadn’t opened until July 26^th and then had telephone problems.  At this point the Mississippi would have to rise only about four feet to flood most of the park.

Gerri's Cornucopia 

Gerri brought home some corn, tomatoes and a melon from the Farmer's market.

Later in the morning we went and picked Margie up and went to a local attraction called Eagle View Park.  The park is on a bluff over looking the Mississippi River a dam and a set of locks.  The only eagle we saw was one at the entrance to the park.

The eagle at Eagle View Park

Barges at Lock number 11

When we got to the part of the park overlooking the locks we watched a tug boat and thirteen barges work it's way through the locks going down river.  

Margie and I at Eagle View Park

After visiting the park we dropped Margie off at her apartment and returned to the RV Park.

Later in the afternoon we saw the tug and barges we had watched going through the looks come by the RV park and under the bridge to the south.

Gerri, me, Margie and Sue at Catfish Charlies

At about 3:30 we picked up Margie and Sue and went for dinner at Catfish Charlies.  While we eating there must have been a wedding party of about a hundred getting on a large boat moored below the restaurant  After everyone was on board the boat went out onto the river.  Anther excellent meal and good company.  After eating we took Sue to the RV Park and Gerri gave her a tour of the motorhome before returning her and Margie to their apartment building.

Ctfish Charlies

Friday, August 9, 2013, Dubuque, IA

We slept in too late this morning.  Considering that Gerri wanted to visit the Hatchlings Office in Des Moines at ten.  I got up at 7:30 and started the coffee, Gerri got up at 8.  Before leaving the park I had to dump the holding tanks at the park's dump station.  Because of the system I use dumping takes longer than with the 3" gravity hose.  I also stopped for fuel.  By the time we were under way Gerri was going to be late. We headed toward the Walmart that I had chosen to park the motor home while Gerri kept her appointment.  We decided that she would take the Jeep and I would drive on toward Dubuque in the motor home.  Gerri changed her appointment to 11 and barely got there on time after we reached the Walmart and unhooked the Jeep.

Iowa Capitol Building at Des Moines

I headed on out with the GPS set for our next designation of Miller's Riverside Park in Dubuque, IA.  I stopped briefly at a rest stop just east of Des Moines.  After leaving the Walmart lot I saw the capitol dome in the distance.  Gerri did more than see it she went by and took pictures.

While I drove on toward Dubuque, Gerri visited some of the the Hatchlings development team in their office in downtown Des Moines.  She also picked up some Hatchlings memorabilia for Margie.

Karen, Mike, Gerri, Abby

Shortly after I left the rest stop traffic came to a stand still.  Traffic was backed up for as far as I could see and it quickly backed up behind me for as far as I could see in the rear view mirrors.  We had some movement but never over about five mph.  Gerri called when she was on the road after her Hatchlings and I warned her of the traffic problems, she was already in it at mile marker 146.  I was at mile marker 152.  Turns out the problem was an overturned semi at mile marker 155.  I went on to the next rest stop.  I had no internet service and couldn't check if there were any caches there.  It was about two hours later when Gerri got to the rest stop.

We hooked the Jeep back up and got back on the road.  We didn't stop at any more rest stops to check for caches because the GPS showed our ETA at Dubuque to be at 4 PM.  We did arrive at about that time and we were set up in site 40A by 4:40.  After cooling off we headed to Margie's for a visit.  Margie is a friend of Gerri's from the Hatchlings game on Facebook.  We had visited her here in 2011.

Yes it had an egg on it.  It also had blue cheese crumbles

After visiting we decided to have a hamburger.  Gerri Googled "best hamburger in Dubuque" and we set the GPS for it.  Turns out the Copper Kettle had excellent burgers.

After eating we headed back to the park.  Even though it is August a lot of the campers had fires.  Some were beyond campfire and into the bonfire area. 

After a little TV and computer time we went to bed.  Gerri and Margie plan to go to a Farmer's Market in the morning at 7 AM.  We will see.

Thursday, August 8, 2013, Waukee, IA

I was up and having coffee by 8.  I never saw the sun come up, it just got a brighter gray.

Our planned route today is I-80 to and then to the Timberline RV Park in Waukee, IA.  I sent them a reservation request on line before leaving the park in Kearney, NB.  While we were traveling the RV park called and confirmed the reservation. 

We left the RV park at 9, but stopped at a nearby Shell station for diesel.  We were soon on the way east on I-80.  As usual there were several stretches of road construction and generally the road was worse than west of Kearney.

Along the way we stopped at a rest stop in Nebraska and I found my last cache in Nebraska for this trip.  We also stopped at an Iowa rest stop and I found two and didn't find one.

We arrived at the RV Park and checked in by 5 PM.  We didn't get a site with sewer.  Before we head for Dubuque we will have to use the dump station because the park in Dubuque only has power hookup.

Supper used up the last of our left overs with a ham steak.  Very good and filling.

TV and computer finished the evening.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013, Kearney, NE.

I got up at 7:30 but since we only planned to drive about 300 miles, I didn't get in a hurry to leave.  Gerri slept in late, unusual for her.  After having coffee and some computer time we got under way at about 10.  

Our planned route was east on I-80 just like the last two days.  We decided on Kearney, NE as our destination for the day.  We stopped at a rest stop that had a geocache but it started raining before I started searching.  We drove on , it only rained for about an hour.  At another rest stop I found two caches, one had a couple of travel bugs so I picked them up.  At another rest stop I picked up two more travel bugs.

We decided to stay the night at the Walmart in Kearney.  We fot there at about 5 PM.  We picked up a few items at the store.  I spoke to the manager about staying in the lot overnight.  I parked where the manager directed.  The lot wasn't very level and when I started to put down the leveling jacks I noticed two holes just the size of the jack feet.  and decide the pavement was two thin.  That ruled out putting out the large slide.

We saw a Nebraska Sunset, this wasn't it.  This one came from the internet, but Kerney is the Sandhill Crane capital of the world shown in this pic.

I started checking things on the computer and Gerri started dinner.  Just about 30 seconds running the microwave the power went off.  I fired up the generator and Gerri finished warming up the left over from Louis' Basque corner.  During supper we decided to go to an RV park.  I made a call to the Kearney RV Park and got the address.  The problem was the park was at 1140 1st Street and I went to 1140 1st Avenue,  After a little delay we got to the park.  What nice people, they directed us to our site in the older section of the park.  The difference between the new and old sections was the new had concrete pads as opposed to gravel drives.  The pace was 100' long and very wide.  We were set up for the night by 8:00 PM.

TV and computer time rounded out the evening.  We only plan to drive to Des Moines tomorrow so there is no hurry getting underway in the morning.