The Journal of 2016

DAY ONE AGAIN

Saturday,  November  28,  2015

Off again today in 23 degree weather.  We left a little later today so it had warmed up some from what it was earlier this morning.  We finished packing all of our freezeables which is pretty much anything edible.  We both fell on the ice yesterday so we were being extra careful today.  Sharon used every grain of salt we had in the house to melt some of it in our path.

The trip to West Bend was pretty much uneventful and Sean was waiting for us with the electric cord in hand.  We immediately plugged in the coach and headed into the house.

For the next 8 or so hours we had cocktails and pizza and my daughter Stephanie, husband Mark, and their three girls had come over also.

About 9 o’clock we retreated to the motorhome for the night.  Sharon read the newspaper she had picked up from home, before we left, and I got ready for bed.

It was quite cozy for the rest of the night.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

We got an early start this morning leaving from Sean’s house and heading for Racine and Primrose Retirement Community where my sister Marge is residing.  We got there early having gotten on the road as soon as we got up this morning.  We stopped for fuel at our usual stop in Oak Creek where gas was $1.899.  I had paid $2.249 about 3 weeks ago at home.  Another case of “good” timing.

We dropped the motorhome at the Interstate and drove the rest of the way in the car.  When we arrived, Marge was eating Breakfast so we sat in the Dining Room and caught up on the Summer with her.  As they cleaned out the Dining Room we left and went up to her apartment.  After a short time, nieces Rhonda and Tom, and LouAnn and Pat stopped by.  We sat and talked for about an hour before we figured we’d better go, and get back on the road for the day.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful and we pulled intoour campsite at the gas station in Wenona, Illinois for the night.  It’s just a gas station with RV slots but it works for us since it has electric, and it’s only $15 a night.  We’ve been here several times in the past and it’s a nice way station in the vast wilderness.

After getting plugged in, we put out the bedroom slide and got the TV antenna (satellite) going for the night.

We each had another Thanksgiving feast for Supper tonight. It’s nice having so many leftovers so Sharon doesn’t have to cook while we’re traveling. 

We watched the end of the afternoon football games and then settled in for the rest of the night.  The TV entertained us until about 10:30, but then we drifted off to bed for the night.

Monday, November 30, 2015

We got up this morning and still no water for us.  I went over to Burger King, 50 feet away, and picked up Breakfast for the two of us.  We had a choice between Subway and BK.  I had a Big Breakfast and Sharon had a burrito.

We were on the road shortly after we finished eating.  We were about an hour down the road before the steering on the motorhome loosened up.  It had been getting more and more difficult to steer and I suspected that the Power Steering pump may have failed.  I had trouble with it at home about two weeks before we left, but I added fluid to the reservoir and it seemed to take care of the problem.  So now we’ll have to just wait and see if it stays fixed.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful until we started looking for a campground for the night.  We used to just find a Wal-Mart and boondock overnight, but we’re just getting too old for the hassles that those nights can produce.  The first campground that we attempted to find was closed for the season, when Sharon finally called them, cause we couldn’t find them.  The next one at Phillipsburg, MO was but we had to drive another 30 miles to get there.  It was not a problem and we got there before it got dark, a condition that we try to prevent driving into.

We got settled in at Happy Trails RV Park and since we had water here, we filled up our water tank and flushed out the anti-freeze in our lines.  We’ll be showering tomorrow morning and it will feel delicious.

Sharon got the satellite dish up and working even though we had a poor signal.  We must be partially blocked by something.  But we managed to have good TV all night and stayed up until about 10:30 tonight.

We’re only about 50 miles from Springfield here in Phillipsburg, so our day should be a short one to get to Branson tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

We left this morning at a very leisurely pace.  I think we actually got on the road about 10:30 headed southwest.  It took about an hour for us to arrive in Ozark, MO, at a gas station that had a very decent price.  It was also right across the street from Lambert’s Café.  We had pre-planned to drive back to Lambert’s from Branson but instead we decided to go today for lunch. 

We stopped at Lambert’s when we got done at the gas station and spent the next hour there.  Lambert’s is the “Home of the Throwed Rolls.”  We embarrassed ourselves with the amount of food we ate.  It was hardly “nothing” compared to what we’ve eaten in the past.  We did, however, take quite a bit of food back home.  We managed to eat it for Supper since we didn’t eat it for lunch.  We did fill up on the “pass arounds” that we gobbled up.

About 45 minutes later we did find our campground, Treasure Lake RV Resort, in Branson.  We pulled in and got set up after finding a spot that was “satellite” friendly.

We got our utilities hooked up and we were ready for the next few days.

While watching TV and catching up on the news, Sharon announced that our water wasn’t working.  I went outside to check the spigot to see if it was frozen.  It  wasn’t.  I checked to see if our outside connection was frozen.  It wasn’t.  I checked to see if our hose was frozen.  It wasn’t.  I just happened to glance under the motorhome and our rear jack was directly on the hose.  DUH!  We ALWAYS put down our jacks and THEN hook up the utilities..........until today.  Somehow our water hose snuck under the jack before we put it down.  Go figure.

That was our emergency for the day.  The rest of the night was quiet with good TV reception until we headed for the rack about 11.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

We both slept late this morning probably because of the travel we’ve done over the past several days.  There was some debate as to whether we would go to the Grand Country Buffet for Breakfast this morning or not.  The debate was with myself and I and Sharon was good no matter what I decided.  I finally made up my mind and decided to go after all.

We quickly got ready and took off down the Strip and we weren’t disappointed.  The food was excellent and we got plenty of it.  The Buffet was $8.49.

One of the reasons we went out for Breakfast was that we really didn’t have anything at home to have for Breakfast.  We had some stuff like the staples but nothing that I wanted.  After we left the restaurant, we stopped by Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping before we came home.  Sharon wanted to do some shopping, so she dropped me off at home and left on her shopping trip.  She was gone about an hour and came back with a pair of rubber sandals and a cross stitch.

I suggested that we call a mechanic for a “muffler” noise that we encountered on the way here Tuesday.  We found one in the campground brochure and gave him a call and left a message.  We waited all night for a return call but none ever came.  We were hoping to squeeze in a repair while we were here, but that may not be possible now.

We spent the rest of the night, after a quick sandwich for Supper, in front of the idiot box watching some of our favorite shows.

Today was the day of the mass shooting in San Bernardino so the news was occupied with that event most of the day.

We went to bed at about 11 tonight waiting for news about the shootings. It was still a little sketchy when we gave up for the night.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

We got up this morning with the idea we would go over to the Yakov Smirnoff Theater to see his show.  We ate Breakfast at home and then headed over for the 10 o’clock show This was to be his last show in Branson.  The first half of the show was very emotional as he spoke about coming to America and his family growing up dirt-poor.  He interspersed comedy into the telling of the family tale.  We enjoyed the show very much as we had not seen him previously.

After the show, it was right around lunchtime so we headed to Joe’s Crab Shack for lunch.  We try never to miss Joe’s even though our bill runs around $100 by the time we get done with our drinks and food.  The crab was absolutely fabulous as it always is.  We left Joe’s with empty pockets but well satisfied with ourselves.  Sometimes you just have to make the sacrifice.

We came home and sat around the motorhome for the afternoon just waiting for the Packer game tonight.  When it finally did arrive, it was another disappointing game until the very end with no time left.  Rodgers threw a Hail Mary and it succeeded.  The whiners are out in full force today because of the facemask penalty, which didn’t happen, was called.  The penalty should been a horsecollar tackle instead of a facemask.  They would have gotten the next play anyway since it was a 15 yard penalty, either way.  Sharon and I were in bed anyway by the time it happened, but I saw it this morning after she found the score on her nook.  Frankly I never care HOW they win, just that they win.  I’m happy!

There was absolutely nothing else on TV tonight except the game and the CMA awards which we never watch.  That’s the main reason that we headed for bed early.

Friday, December 4, 2015

We had nowhere to go and nothing to do today so it turned into a “get ready to go” day today. 

We sat and watched tv for most of the day, ate all our meals here and just generally hung around the hacienda.

I dumped Heet in the gas tank which I purchased yesterday and found out that the lock on the gas tank was not working.  Unless I got it fixed we wouldn’t be adding any gas to the tank anytime soon.  I managed to get it open after fooling with it for a while, but I sure didn’t want to close it until I knew it was fixed.  I lubed it up and waited for the oil to sink in and when I tried it again it was working just like new.  Whew!

Sharon got busy cleaning up the shanty and I dumped and refilled the tanks.  For the most part we disconnected all the utilities except for the electric.  We’ll pull the plug tomorrow and we’ll be ready to go.

The rest of the day we just sat around and “cleaned up” a few other things that have to be done normally as we travel.

We stayed up until 10 tonight and when our regular shows were over, we headed for the soft bed and warm sheets.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

We left Branson this morning with a couple of unresolved problems.  The leaking exhaust manifold and the Power Steering pump which reared its ugly head again about an hour down the road.  Sharon was driving when the steering went out again and stayed out for the next two days.  We really have not relished traveling on a weekend previously, and we rarely do it.  Mainly because if you have problems it makes it difficult to find a repair shop open.

We didn’t even try to find a shop until we got well into Oklahoma.  We found a Lee’s Tire Service who agreed to have a look at the steering.  We were tied up there for about an hour and a half before he informed us that he couldn’t find the right PS Pump.  We left and continued on down the road.

We had a tough time finding a campground on the road tonight so we decided to settle at the nearest Wal-Mart.  Sharon went inside and got some chicken wings and corn dogs for Supper.  She ate the wings and I ate the dogs.  Yumm!

We don’t usually stay at Wal-Marts anymore, for no particular reason, except that when its cold, the furnace runs all night on battery, and the batteries are dead in the morning.  We watched TV all night with the generator running until we headed for the bed and the nice warm sheets. (Flannel)

We only lasted until 10 tonight before we gave it all up.

Sunday, December 6, 2015

We both had a very restless night last night so we were up early and on the road.  We still had an engine battery this morning and the coach started right up.  It took a few minutes to charge the generator batteries and then we got that running also.

We got on the road and the steering was still bad and the exhaust manifold was making noise until the engine warmed up some.

We found the Roadhouse Diner for Breakfast this morning at an exit where we had stayed several years ago.  As soon as we parked in the campground it started hailing and last for about 10 minutes.  It was great timing as we had just gotten off the road because it was raining so hard.  That time was actually before the Roadhouse Diner was built.

We made it to the Oasis RV Resort in Amarillo before we stopped for the night.  The campground host gave us a couple of names to call for repairs on the motorhome.  The first number was Brad who said that he would come out here and fix it.  That is perfect for us because we can live in the coach while it’s being fixed.

As soon as we got the repairs arranged we took off for Supper to Dyer’s BBQ on Georgia Street.  We’ve been going there for several years and they’re BBQ is out of this world.  It did not disappoint again tonight.

After getting home we sat in front of the tube for the rest of the night until 10.  We’ll have a relaxing night’s sleep tonight knowing the repairman is coming in the morning.