J05W1

It was another cold one this morning when we took off for points south. I shoveled the roof of the motorhome Sunday afternoon so at least that was not going to be a worry for today.

I had decided I would put water in the tank even though it was below freezing this morning. I ran a hose out the Laundry Room window and filled it that way. We were on the road by 8:45 on our way to Wal-Mart to fill the gas tanks. $150.00 and 74 gallons later we were back on the road to meet Len and Rose Schultz, our traveling partners for the next couple of days.

Our intention was to stop at Lambeau Field in Green Bay and have lunch at Curly's Pub and then continue on from there. There was a Home game scheduled for tonight and when we got there at 11:30 they were already parking cars for the game tonight. There was no way we could get in and out of that parking lot today. We drove on to the the Olive Garden and stopped for Soup and Salad, one of their specialties.

After lunch we headed out our separate ways. Len and Rose were going to Sheboygan and we were headed to West Bend. We got to Stephanie and Mark's about 3:30 and they weren't home from work yet so we sat in the motorhome for awhile until Stef called us on the phone and suggested we go up to the house. We were about a half block from their house parked on a sidestreet, and we went up and the three kids (Briana, Olivia, Alexis) were already home from school. An hour or so later Stef and Mark were home and were cooking pizzas for supper. Sean and Julie and Katelin had also stopped over for tonight. We would give the Grandkids their Christmas gifts tonight and then we would head out in the morning.

I was up at 6 this morning getting the anti-freeze out of the lines so we could take showers this morning. The furnace didn't pop the breaker last night at all. I was grateful for that. We need to be "on the road" this morning by 8 so that we can meet Len and Rose and Marge and Wally (My Sister) by 9:30 near Racine. We actually arrived in "Racine" at about 9, and we were 30 minutes ahead of schedule. But that was perfect because Len and Rose don't eat at McDonald's anyway. The 4 of us sat and ate and were almost done when Len and Rose arrived. We sat and had a cup of coffee together and then we were off. Marge and Wally surprised us with a Kringle. ......again. They usually do. I hope they never think that we stop just for the Kringle. It wouldn't be true.

Outside of Chicago the weather turned to fog and rain and we just kept plodding along. It wasn't bad enough to stop or slow down so we just continued. By the time we got to our first fuel stop in Effingham, IL, Rose was informing me how when we travel together, the weather is always rotten. She still hasn't forgotten coming home last Spring in the snow. Yeah, yeah. The weather stayed bad all day and night.

We stopped for the night in Mount Vernon, Illinois at our usual "Wal-Mart Campground." There was 5th Wheel here ahead of us. We just pulled in and settled. We were here early enough to see Ken Jennings lose on Jeopardy. I knew it would be a fluke when he lost. He has a brilliant mind. 2½ Million Dollars later and he's gone. Just like the old West...................There's always a faster draw somewhere.

There was a Dollar Store about a half block away that we visited and hen just settled in for TV the rest of the night. Len and Rose stopped over for awhile and we talked before they left. Me and the Mrs. had ourselves some popcorn and TV for the night.

I was up by 5:30 and the furnace breaker had lasted all night without popping. The rain had stopped at least for now. I wonder if Rose will give me credit for that. I think not!! We take our time getting out of here today. It's only about 125 miles to Lambert's Cafe (Home of the Throwed Rolls) in Sikeston, MO. We'll go for lunch and then head off our own separate ways. By the time we got there, Sharon realized that they were in a new building. It's about a block further west from where they were. They now have a huge parking lot with RV Parking. We had no trouble getting in and out. We were gone by about 1:30 to the Flying J down the road where the gas was $1.719

We headed off to the West to Little Rock and Len and Rose gave us hugs and headed to Biloxi, MS. We stopped just short of Little Rock in a little Wal-Mart in Lonoke, AR. We had some leftover Chicken Wings for supper. Some were from home and the rest were our leftovers from Lambert's. With a couple of beers to wash them down we were in heaven.

We settled in and watched TV tonight. There were a couple of our favorite shows on tonight and while we watched TV we had the generator running to keep our batteries charged for the morning.

The Breaker on the furnace popped early this morning and Sharon got up and reset it. We had our Breakfast and were on the road to the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock. We were at the Library for a couple of hours and then disconnected the car and went to the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site. There was no access to the school so we only visited the Visitor's Center. The Center was an old Magnolia Oil Gas Station that had been refurbished into a visitor's Center. It was really rather neat. It had to be the most unusual one we had ever been to.

After the school we went to the River Market and had lunch and shopped for a couple of souvenir postcards of the library. We had Democrats that we had to send them to.

We left around 1:30 and got back on the road headed west. I notices when we stopped at the library that it appeared that we had gone through another Heater Core. We had a puddle of anti-freeze under the right fender. We just had the Heater Core changed last fall. This makes 3 that we've gone through in three years. I am not a happy camper.

After we gassed-up in Russellville, AR Sharon drove for a couple of hours until we hit Sallisaw, OK. We stopped for the night while it was still light out.

We looked for our warranty papers and they must still be at Northern RV at home. I'll have to call them tomorrow and find out if they're there. We couldn't get hooked up on the Internet tonight either. So no e-mail for the last 4 days. Things are starting to p____ me off.

We settled for Hot Dogs for supper tonight after both of us were still a little full from lunch. I also finished up the Kringle. I was anger-eating. I don't know why we can't get through a winter without major problems.

TV pretty much sucked tonight but we watched it until bedtime anyway. We ran the generator for 3 hours tonight. We should be charged up fine for tomorrow.

I finally got hooked up to the Internet this morning by using UP.NET instead of Verizon Express Network. I actually don't know how I did it so I'm sure I'll have to fiddle with it again tomorrow to check it. It was relatively quiet here last night except for the occasional train that went through. Man, it's always something.

We stopped to top-off our gas tank before we turned south off the interstate. We would find the gas a little more expensive as we head west after leaving Sulphur.

We arrived at the Cedar Blue Resort about 2:30 and settled into our site. Henry and Arlene were out walking and returned shortly after we got set up. We sat and talked until about 8 o'clock with only a break to go downtown shopping and to eat supper.

We had nothing but grief this morning with the furnace popping the breaker on every cycle. I even slept on the couch for awhile so I could keep an eye on it. By 5 it was operating at least semi-normally. I went back to bed and slept until about 7.

I got up this morning and tried to check e-mail with no luck. I couldn't get on the Verizon Network or UP.Net. The last couple of days have been just peachy. So the problems just continue to plague us.

After Breakfast this morning Henry stopped over and asked if we wanted to take a ride in to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. We agreed to go right after lunch. We had already been there a couple of years ago but we really had nothing to do while we're here. And besides, it's only a couple of miles down the road from the campground.

After lunch we headed down the road to the National Park and drove around in there for about an hour. At the visitor's center a ranger told us about the storytellers that were in the park today. We decided to check it out and see what it was all about. We lasted through about 3 of them before we left at intermission. We drove around the town of Sulphur for awhile to see what was happening there. It was a lot bigger than we had previously imagined. We had come through town on a side road to get to the campground. The campground isn't much but we'll only be here for a few days anyway.

When we got back home we went over to Henry and Arlene's and talked until suppertime. After a supper of spaghetti and salad we went back over to the LeDuc's for awhile.

We had nothing to do today except watch the Packers beat the Eagles in Philadelphia. Henry and Arlene came over about 1 as we waited for the second game to begin. It didn't take long for the humiliation to take place. It was a horrible drubbing with Green Bay only scoring a Field Goal before they took Bret Favre out of the game. It was a horrible day all in all.

Henry and Arlene stayed for supper but we only had snacks to eat. Sharon heated up a bunch of leftovers and we ate that instead of a regular meal. But it was pretty good.

We can't publish to the Internet with our connection, or lack of it here, so we may have to wait until Tuesday when we hit the road again to get the first edition of the journal up and running.

After Henry and Arlene left we settled in for some TV tonight. There wasn't much on except repeats so we watched a Christmas movie. It was pretty droll. We were both ready for the sack by the time 10 o'clock rolled around. I didn't even stay up to watch Seinfeld tonight. I was pretty disgusted with the cold and the beating that the Packers took today. It does not appear to be their year this year. Although Craig Nall looked pretty good for the future if Bret decides to hang it up. But we'll miss him a lot.



	The Journal of 2005 By Bill Rocheleau DAY ONE AGAIN Monday, November 29, 2004 It was another cold one this morning when we took off for points south. I shoveled the roof of the motorhome Sunday afternoon so at least that was not going to be a worry for today. I had decided I would put water in the tank even though it was below freezing this morning. I ran a hose out the Laundry Room window and filled it that way. We were on the road by 8:45 on our way to Wal-Mart to fill the gas tanks. $150.00 and 74 gallons later we were back on the road to meet Len and Rose Schultz, our traveling partners for the next couple of days. Our intention was to stop at Lambeau Field in Green Bay and have lunch at Curly's Pub and then continue on from there. There was a Home game scheduled for tonight and when we got there at 11:30 they were already parking cars for the game tonight. There was no way we could get in and out of that parking lot today. We drove on to the the Olive Garden and stopped for Soup and Salad, one of their specialties. After lunch we headed out our separate ways. Len and Rose were going to Sheboygan and we were headed to West Bend. We got to Stephanie and Mark's about 3:30 and they weren't home from work yet so we sat in the motorhome for awhile until Stef called us on the phone and suggested we go up to the house. We were about a half block from their house parked on a sidestreet, and we went up and the three kids (Briana, Olivia, Alexis) were already home from school. An hour or so later Stef and Mark were home and were cooking pizzas for supper. Sean and Julie and Katelin had also stopped over for tonight. We would give the Grandkids their Christmas gifts tonight and then we would head out in the morning. We stayed up until the end of the Packer game and then headed out to the motorhome. We had had a really good time but we were bushed. We got back to the motorhome about 11 and it didn't take long to get into bed and start sawing logs. It was very quiet here for the night. Tuesday, November 30, 2004 I was up at 6 this morning getting the anti-freeze out of the lines so we could take showers this morning. The furnace didn't pop the breaker last night at all. I was grateful for that. We need to be "on the road" this morning by 8 so that we can meet Len and Rose and Marge and Wally (My Sister) by 9:30 near Racine. We actually arrived in "Racine" at about 9, and we were 30 minutes ahead of schedule. But that was perfect because Len and Rose don't eat at McDonald's anyway. The 4 of us sat and ate and were almost done when Len and Rose arrived. We sat and had a cup of coffee together and then we were off. Marge and Wally surprised us with a Kringle. ......again. They usually do. I hope they never think that we stop just for the Kringle. It wouldn't be true. Outside of Chicago the weather turned to fog and rain and we just kept plodding along. It wasn't bad enough to stop or slow down so we just continued. By the time we got to our first fuel stop in Effingham, IL, Rose was informing me how when we travel together, the weather is always rotten. She still hasn't forgotten coming home last Spring in the snow. Yeah, yeah. The weather stayed bad all day and night. We stopped for the night in Mount Vernon, Illinois at our usual "Wal-Mart Campground." There was 5th Wheel here ahead of us. We just pulled in and settled. We were here early enough to see Ken Jennings lose on Jeopardy. I knew it would be a fluke when he lost. He has a brilliant mind. 2½ Million Dollars later and he's gone. Just like the old West...................There's always a faster draw somewhere. There was a Dollar Store about a half block away that we visited and hen just settled in for TV the rest of the night. Len and Rose stopped over for awhile and we talked before they left. Me and the Mrs. had ourselves some popcorn and TV for the night. We both lasted until 10 and then hit the hay. Sharon did a puzzle and I zonked out. Wednesday, December 1, 2004 I was up by 5:30 and the furnace breaker had lasted all night without popping. The rain had stopped at least for now. I wonder if Rose will give me credit for that. I think not!! We take our time getting out of here today. It's only about 125 miles to Lambert's Cafe (Home of the Throwed Rolls) in Sikeston, MO. We'll go for lunch and then head off our own separate ways. By the time we got there, Sharon realized that they were in a new building. It's about a block further west from where they were. They now have a huge parking lot with RV Parking. We had no trouble getting in and out. We were gone by about 1:30 to the Flying J down the road where the gas was $1.719 until we finished filling and then it when down 2 cents a gallon. Damn!! But even at 1.71 it would be the cheapest we've found. We headed off to the West to Little Rock and Len and Rose gave us hugs and headed to Biloxi, MS. We stopped just short of Little Rock in a little Wal-Mart in Lonoke, AR. We had some leftover Chicken Wings for supper. Some were from home and the rest were our leftovers from Lambert's. With a couple of beers to wash them down we were in heaven. We settled in and watched TV tonight. There were a couple of our favorite shows on tonight and while we watched TV we had the generator running to keep our batteries charged for the morning. It was very quiet here tonight and I think both of us will sleep well. Thursday, December 2, 2004 The Breaker on the furnace popped early this morning and Sharon got up and reset it. We had our Breakfast and were on the road to the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock. We were at the Library for a couple of hours and then disconnected the car and went to the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site. There was no access to the school so we only visited the Visitor's Center. The Center was an old Magnolia Oil Gas Station that had been refurbished into a visitor's Center. It was really rather neat. It had to be the most unusual one we had ever been to. After the school we went to the River Market and had lunch and shopped for a couple of souvenir postcards of the library. We had Democrats that we had to send them to. We left around 1:30 and got back on the road headed west. I notices when we stopped at the library that it appeared that we had gone through another Heater Core. We had a puddle of anti-freeze under the right fender. We just had the Heater Core changed last fall. This makes 3 that we've gone through in three years. I am not a happy camper. After we gassed-up in Russellville, AR Sharon drove for a couple of hours until we hit Sallisaw, OK. We stopped for the night while it was still light out. We looked for our warranty papers and they must still be at Northern RV at home. I'll have to call them tomorrow and find out if they're there. We couldn't get hooked up on the Internet tonight either. So no e-mail for the last 4 days. Things are starting to p____ me off. We settled for Hot Dogs for supper tonight after both of us were still a little full from lunch. I also finished up the Kringle. I was anger-eating. I don't know why we can't get through a winter without major problems. TV pretty much sucked tonight but we watched it until bedtime anyway. We ran the generator for 3 hours tonight. We should be charged up fine for tomorrow. Friday, December 3, 2004 I finally got hooked up to the Internet this morning by using UP.NET instead of Verizon Express Network. I actually don't know how I did it so I'm sure I'll have to fiddle with it again tomorrow to check it. It was relatively quiet here last night except for the occasional train that went through. Man, it's always something. We were on the road rather early this morning expecting to make it to Sulphur, OK where Arlene and Henry LeDuc from Alberta, Canada were waiting for us. We stopped to top-off our gas tank before we turned south off the interstate. We would find the gas a little more expensive as we head west after leaving Sulphur. We arrived at the Cedar Blue Resort about 2:30 and settled into our site. Henry and Arlene were out walking and returned shortly after we got set up. We sat and talked until about 8 o'clock with only a break to go downtown shopping and to eat supper. My cold seemed to be getting a little better before it actually got worse. By 9, I was ready for bed. We had nothing but grief this morning with the furnace popping the breaker on every cycle. I even slept on the couch for awhile so I could keep an eye on it. By 5 it was operating at least semi-normally. I went back to bed and slept until about 7. Saturday, December 4, 2004 I got up this morning and tried to check e-mail with no luck. I couldn't get on the Verizon Network or UP.Net. The last couple of days have been just peachy. So the problems just continue to plague us. After Breakfast this morning Henry stopped over and asked if we wanted to take a ride in to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. We agreed to go right after lunch. We had already been there a couple of years ago but we really had nothing to do while we're here. And besides, it's only a couple of miles down the road from the campground. After lunch we headed down the road to the National Park and drove around in there for about an hour. At the visitor's center a ranger told us about the storytellers that were in the park today. We decided to check it out and see what it was all about. We lasted through about 3 of them before we left at intermission. We drove around the town of Sulphur for awhile to see what was happening there. It was a lot bigger than we had previously imagined. We had come through town on a side road to get to the campground. The campground isn't much but we'll only be here for a few days anyway. When we got back home we went over to Henry and Arlene's and talked until suppertime. After a supper of spaghetti and salad we went back over to the LeDuc's for awhile. We were home by about 9 and I watched a little TV before going to bed. The cold I had picked up in the last couple of days was getting to me. Sunday, December 5, 2004 It had rained all night last night with it coming down pretty good for a while. It seems like it will clear up sometime today. We had nothing to do today except watch the Packers beat the Eagles in Philadelphia. Henry and Arlene came over about 1 as we waited for the second game to begin. It didn't take long for the humiliation to take place. It was a horrible drubbing with Green Bay only scoring a Field Goal before they took Bret Favre out of the game. It was a horrible day all in all. Henry and Arlene stayed for supper but we only had snacks to eat. Sharon heated up a bunch of leftovers and we ate that instead of a regular meal. But it was pretty good. We can't publish to the Internet with our connection, or lack of it here, so we may have to wait until Tuesday when we hit the road again to get the first edition of the journal up and running. My cold seemed to get better today with the help of several Bloody Marys. I'm sure it will be just as bad tomorrow. After Henry and Arlene left we settled in for some TV tonight. There wasn't much on except repeats so we watched a Christmas movie. It was pretty droll. We were both ready for the sack by the time 10 o'clock rolled around. I didn't even stay up to watch Seinfeld tonight. I was pretty disgusted with the cold and the beating that the Packers took today. It does not appear to be their year this year. Although Craig Nall looked pretty good for the future if Bret decides to hang it up. But we'll miss him a lot.