The Journal of 2009-10

DAY ONE AGAIN

Sunday, November 29, 2009

We woke up this morning and it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  There was about 2 inches of snow on the ground and we were itching to get out of town.  It was still snowing at 9:00 when we pulled out and it continued all the way to Green Bay.

We tried to decide where to eat lunch along the way and it was either going to be Olive Garden or Curly's Pub (Lambeau Field) in Green Bay.  It took about 10 miles but we finally narrowed it down to Chicken and Gnocchi Soup at the Olive Garden.  As usual it was very good but our service lacked a little something today.  That's never happened there before.

We were back on the road again right after lunch and as we headed toward West Bend, Wisconsin the snow turned to rain and then stopped altogether.  By the time we got to the Rocheleau Campground it was dry as a bone.  It was beginning to look a lot like Fall again.

We got a couple of phone calls on the road from Sandy, Sharon's sister and Mary, friends from Sparta, Wisconsin who were also on the road.  Mary said they also ran into snow in New Mexico.

We pulled into my Son Sean's about 2 PM and sat down for some conversation.  Katelin (Our Granddaughter) started getting a little antsy so Grandma gave her her Christmas present early.

My daughter Stephanie and her husband and kids came over about 4 and we ordered up about 24 pieces of KFC for Dinner.  That also was very good and we all just sat around and talked til about 9 when Stef and Mark and the kids went home, and we came back out to the motorhome for the night.  It had been a very pleasant day except for the snow that was quite worrisome on occasion today.

Monday, November 30, 2009

We hit the ground running this morning and left Sean's about 8:30, but it really didn't do us any good to get rolling early.  We hit some traffic on the 894 bypass around Milwaukee and got hung up for about a half hour.  We still managed to get to the McD's to meet my sister Marge and Wally by 9:30.  We had a very pleasant Breakfast and then got it back on again with our Kringle in tow.  It happened to be Cherry Kringle and I think Wally knows that that's my favorite.

Our next stop would be for a change of drivers somewhere in Central Illinois.  Sharon gave me a break for a couple of hours while I took a nap to rest my weary eyes.  I have an old pair of sunglasses that make my eyes very tired when I wear them cause they seem to be out of focus.  Driving South means that the sun is always in your eyes during the day.

We didn't stop for lunch today and instead had a couple pieces of Kringle to hold us over.  We reached our campground in Litchfield, IL about 3:30 and settled in for the night.  Now it was time to set up the new DVR that I had finagled out of DirecTV this past summer.  It doesn't set up like our old receiver so it's going to take some work to get it going.  Saying it would take some work was an understatement.  We finally got it going after about a half hour but with no understanding of how we did it.  WONDERFUL!

After it was set up we settled in for the night to watch TV and just relax.  By about 10 we were both ready for the Funny Farm but it still took another half hour to make it to bed.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

We were on the road this morning by about 8:45 just taking our time today.  We knew we could easily make it to Branson, MO before darkness set in.  We abhor driving at night so we only do it when we absolutely have to.  Today will hopefully not be one of those days.

Along the way I wanted to stop at the "Old Chain of Rocks Bridge" connecting Madison County Illinois and St. Louis.  We didn't know exactly where it was and all the people we talked to gave us spotty directions, but Sharon found it in the GPS while we were driving.  The "Chain of Rocks" is a bridge that crossed the Mississippi on Route 66 years ago.  The unusual thing about it is the 22 degree bend in the middle of the river.  I've wanted to see this bridge for years and we took the turnoff to check it out.  They've turned it into a bike and walking bridge, closed to traffic.

After we left the bridge we stopped off at a Burger King to have lunch.  It had been a long time since we'd had a Whopper so we talked ourselves into it.  We also managed to find gas at $2.38 a gallon so we topped our tank to the tune of $138 at the same time.

After getting back on the road we knew our next stop would be Branson.  We rolled in about 4 and in plenty of time to set up before dark.  Although I don't mind setting up camp after dark, I just don't like driving in it.

For Supper tonight we just had Turkey sandwiches since we didn't want anything more.  There was no sense in Sharon cooking since neither of us felt much like eating tonight.  We mostly just wanted to sit down and relax after a somewhat long day.

The "President" was on TV tonight with his surge strategy.  Same old Obama. No strategy, and we'll cut and run in July 2011.  What an empty suit.

At least he didn't pre-empt our shows for the night like they did for the Christmas parade in Appleton, WI last Tuesday.  We had all our shows on even though they ran late.  I had to find another show at 9 to avoid the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.  I don't need to be looking at that stuff.  By 9:30 we were both ready to fall into slumber and headed for the padded room.  Tomorrow will be another day.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

We got a leisurely start this morning since we really weren't going anywhere early.  By the time we got ready to go it was around 11 and we got in the car and headed out to the Branson Welcome Center near Ozark, MO.  We had heard on their radio station that they could help us with tickets for show, but when we went in, we knew what was happening.  Timeshares, just like everywhere else giving away tickets.  They couldn't help us but we picked up our free Milton Crabapple comedy CD, for free, anyway.

It wasn't a wasted trip because we had planned to go to Lambert's Café for lunch anyway, and it was just across the Interstate from the Welcome Center.  Lambert's is the "Home of the Throwed Rolls" and a real hoot to eat at.  We always order the Chicken Wings and take them home and just eat the "pass arounds" while we're there.  The pass around include Fried Potatoes, Black-eyed Peas, Throwed Rolls and Tomatoes and Macaroni.  All very good.

When we came home Sharon got on the phone and arranged for a couple of shows for us to see.  We'll be going to the BaldKnobbers show tonight and Andy Williams tomorrow night.

By Suppertime I was getting a little empty feeling so I heated up a couple of Chicken Wings for myself. 

We left for the show tonight, and got to the Theater in plenty of time, when Sharon informed me that she forgot the camera.  I still had the video camera but we had to go back for the snapshot.  We managed to get behind some guy sightseeing on the way home and two buses on the way back again.  We made it back before anything started so I was happy again.

The show was very entertaining and fast moving to say the least.  The comedy was excellent and we enjoyed the arrangements that they used for the Christmas Music.  They were quite unique.  This town is just loaded with multi-talented people.

We got home about 10:30 and I just slithered into bed while Sharon read the Newspaper online.  I think I was already sleeping when she came to bed cause I don't remember her retiring.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

We got another leisurely start this morning since we didn't have anything to do until noon anyway.  At noon after we cleaned up and got dressed we took off for Joe's Crab Shack at Branson Landing, downtown.  We stumbled upon Joe's last year when we were just checking out the Landing.  Since then we've eaten there 3 times and enjoyed it immensely.  We have the Crab Pot that is filled with "big leg" King Crab for $28.  We also ordered a Hurricane for two that we slopped down also.  It was all very good.  Yum,Yum.

After lunch we went to the "As seen on TV" store which features all the specials that are seen on late night TV.  We couldn't find a thing we couldn't live without, however, so we just mosied back out on to the trolley and rode it to the parking lot.  The weather was very nippy out today and even downright cold at times.  The wind was blowing so that made it even more miserable.

We stopped on the way home to pick up Danish and Sharon even picked up Ice Cream for her. (Brrrr)  We also had to have toilet paper so the stop wasn't a complete failure.  After we got home we napped for awhile to digest our crab that was laying heavy on our stomachs.

Tonight we opted out of Supper even though we both had a snack to nibble on.  We left for the Andy Williams Theater at 6:15 for the show at 7 tonight.  It was a beautiful show and we enjoyed it very much.  The only bad thing was that we had to walk up a hill from the parking lot to get to the theater.  But apparently the overflowing crowd didn't mind as much as I did.  The stage was just gorgeous and the lighting was  masterful.  It was as good a show as we have ever seen.  And much to our surprise, even though he had some guests on stage, "ole Andy" hung in there singing through the whole 90 minutes.  He was just great.

By the time we got home it was almost time for bed but we sat up and watched a recording of CSI before we hit the hay.  We 'll be leaving here tomorrow morning so I'm sure we'll be rolling relatively early.

Friday, December 4, 2009

We were on the road this morning about 9 after we dumped our holding tanks and finally got hooked up at the office.  We hooked up at the office cause Sharon had to bring the gate card back and get our refund.

We would be driving for most of the day today to just make some mileage.  Not a lot of it, but enough to get us to Oklahoma City or past there.

We made a couple of gas stops because we didn't have enough to make it to cheap gas so we filled about 30 gallons of gas at one station and then drove on again til we got it for about 18 cents less per gallon.  Sometimes you just have to shop around.  We didn't actually get a fill-up at either station since one was too expensive and the other cut me off at $100.

We drove a few miles past Oklahoma City to Yukon the home of Garth Brooks.  We pulled into a Wal-Mart about 5 pm for the night, and for the next hour I tried to set up the dish again.  I finally had to call DirecTV to see if I could get any answers out of them.  It's now 8:30 and I still haven't heard back from them.  I guess I'll need to call them before I even start to set it up next time.

Sharon walked into Wal-Mart to see if they had any fish in their Deli, but no such luck, so she got some frozen filets and fries to bake up in the oven for tonight's supper.  They actually turned out very good.

We'll need the generator for a while tonight to keep the batteries up so the furnace won't drag them down too far tonight.  Hopefully they'll last all night like they should.  We'll find out before morning.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

We showered and got going this morning, and since we had nothing to unhook or pick- up it didn't take long to actually get rolling.  We had only planned to go about 250 miles today anyway.  We would be stopping for the night at Amarillo, TX at a little campground called Sundown RV Resort.  To call Sundown a "resort" is quite a stretch,  but we've come here for several years, so why change now?

We stopped for gas along the way and got into a conversation with another couple from Michigan who were out for the first time.  At Flying J when they didn't know for sure which side their LP tank was on, it was a dead giveaway.  They got out of the motorhome with jackets on, that had an embroidered boat on the back that they seemed quite proud of, which was also an indication they were new to the lifestyle.

After we left the Flying J we were about 15 miles from our campground and we got in and settled by about 3.

First up, was to turn on the satellite dish and call DirecTV.  The girl on the other end got me what I wanted with the first piece of information even though she didn't know it.  After that I got the dish up and running without a hitch.  We'll see if it works that well next time tomorrow night.

We watched TV until it was time for Dinner and then got in the car and headed towards Dyer's BBQ.  It's one of our favorite eating places where they serve "3-Meat Dinners" which are absolutely fabulous.  And they certainly didn't disappoint this time either.  By 6:30 we were ready to sit in our chairs and relax for the night.

We decided earlier that we'd try to get up early in the morning and try to make it to Deming, New Mexico tomorrow night.  It's 520 miles and we're not used to driving that far, in a day, but we'll give it a shot.

For now we're just content to sit and watch TV and let our Ribs, Pork and Sausage digest.  We stayed up until 10 but we were both ready for bed at that time.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

We were up early this morning, as planned, and we were on the road by 7:30 headed west.  Daylight had just barely broken and we got a clean getaway.  We had to stop just up the road, however, so I could check the oil on the motorhome before we continued on.

We drove from Amarillo to Santa Rosa before we stopped for Breakfast at McDonald's.  Our intention was to get as far and as fast as we could today, to see if we could make it all the way to Deming, NM before dark.  Last year we drove the last 40 miles with the sun in our eyes and finished up the day after dark.  We didn't want a repeat of last year today.

Our only stop except for changing drivers was on the south side of Albuquerque for a fill-up of gas.  We found it for $2.50 a gallon and it was $2.49 at Flying J.  So we made out pretty good for a change.

We managed to arrive at Deming just about a half hour before the sun set.  In fact we never did have the sun in our eyes on the way in.

We'll be here at the Little Vineyard Campground for the next three nights.  We've been here before and we enjoy the campgound and it has "free" Wi-Fi.  If you can get hooked up to it.

We'll settle in for TV tonight until we charge into the bedroom for a long winter's rest.