September 8, 2012. Our next door neighbor workampers Terry & Evelyn left earlier this week to do some sightseeing before beginning their job at Amazon later this month. We were contemplating taking a job at a campground in Port Aransas but they wanted someone through March 2013, and we did not want to stay that long as we want to attend the TCT rally at the end of February.
But, after calling, talking to the nurses, and sending a letter to Dr. Corkran, he did write a letter on Jim's behalf so we could get the job at Amazon. I sent the letter to Kelly, our rep at Amazon for confirmation that it is OK, and am now waiting on his reply that the letter is OK and that the brace Jim wants to wear will pass the Safety Manager's approval. Also asked Kelly if Amazon had an earlier start date, as we would like to leave here earlier than the end of October. The other workampers here said they would be happy to stay until the campground closes as they did not have any place they had to go to. Even if Amazon did not have an earlier start date for us, we could leave at the beginning of October, visit Marilyn & Jeff longer, and stay in Maple Heights visiting longer as well. As it stands, if we left Oct. 24, we would really be pushing it to be in Campbellsville, Ky on November 10. And we want to compete the Bourbon Trail as well before going to Amazon. So if we left here earlier, we would have plenty of time to do all of that before starting work at Amazon.
Lucy took the drain tube out of her leg on Wednesday morning, just before going to the vet for a checkup. The vet is very pleased with her progress and even though her leg is still a bit swollen, she said it will go down. She still has another few days of antibiotics, which I will finish to assure that her leg does not get an internal infection. Her stitches are scheduled to be removed on Thursday, Sept. 13.
Fall feels like it is coming early - temp today was 61 with rain off and on. Low tonight is mid-40's. It will get warmer later in the week, but that won't last. The leaves are falling at a rapid rate, but have not turned into fall colors yet. Would like to take the scenic trip up the North Shore Drive, which will take a couple of days. But since we are thinking about leaving here earlier than our contract end, I don't know if we will have the time to do that.
September 10, 2012. Contemplating on leaving at the end of the month. Our fellow workampers have expressed an interest in staying here until the campground closes, leaving us free to take off if we want to. Still have not had confirmation from Amazon that we will be able to work there. Called, talked to the nurses, and finally faxed Dr. Corkran a letter on Friday telling him that we needed a letter from him in order for Jim to go to work at Amazon, which I then emailed to Amazon. We are still waiting to see if their Safety Manager wll approve the type of brace Jim wears. We have fufilled their requirements, but now we are waiting to hear from what we have given them will allow us to work there. Would like to hear back from them soon so we know that we have a winter job, or do I have to look for something else. Will email again tomorrow if I do not hear from them. I do not like being up in the air about where we
are going for the winter - kind of disconcerting.
The job at the Port Aransas campground probably will not happen since I wanted to leave there mid-February and they want someone to stay through March. I would like to start our new position at Tremont RV Resort in Tennessee in March, but we may have to work until March in a winter position - seems that is what their schedules dictate, if Amazon falls through.
So i we do take off early, we may head northeast in Wisconsin and into the northern part of Michigan to do some sightseeing and then down the coast of Michigan before visiting with Marilyn and Jeff.
Schedules have changed for us here since Terry & Evelyn left. Jim & I now start our week on Sunday and work until Wednesday. Sue said she may change that and put us on Saturday. The campground is pretty dead. This past weekend we had a total of about 20 campers here, not including the seasonals. During the week there are about 1-2 other campers here, not including seasonals or workampers, making it for a very quiet week.
September 12, 2012. Walking the dogs this week - first thing in the morning at 7:30am heard coyotes howling off in the distance - sounded like they were coming from the other end of the campground. Hearing them worries me about taking the dogs for a walk and letting them loose to run around. Heard they are not very afraid of humans anymore. Did find some different skat on one of the roads at the lower end - Lucy smelled it but Hayley would not go near it. She usually has no hesitation about smelling dog scat, so I wonder what dropped this stuff.
September 16, 2012. Everything is a go with Amazon. Right now our start date is November 12, however, I emailed them and asked if we could start any earlier. The next earlier start date is November 5 and we are now waiting to hear from Amazon to give us the OK to start then. Until we hear from them, we are up in the air as to when we will leave Minnesota and head south. Our first stop will be Indiana, then Maple Heights for about two weeks, then on to Campbellsville, Kentucky. Every so often Jim comes home and says he is ready to leave right now - Jerry said something (again) and got him mad. Jerry just has this way of saying things - he has no social skills and tends to just "talk" instead of thinking how is making the other person feel. Jim's job is splitting and stacking firewood - Jerry wants the firewood shed filled before the end of the season. It's backbreaking work and many of the seasonals think Jerry works his workampers too hard and that is one reason they don't want to come back to work. It is a lot of work considering Jim & I only get $600 a month for our labor.
When I read the work requirements of other workamping jobs, none of them require this much physical labor. I hope the next job we have in Tennessee is not this hard for him.
Working at Amazon is going to be a bit grueling - 8-10 hour days for five weeks, but in the end it will be worth it. We will make enough money and be able to take off the months of January and February and then start our new position in March. January we will spend in Texas visiting Josh, Karen & Ellie; February in Mexico Beach, Florida at Rustic Sands RV Park; the TCT Rally at the Sertoma Youth Ranch in Brooksville the third week of February, then travel north to Tennessee.
September 25, 2012. Days are counting down for us now. We are hoping for a November 5 start date with Amazon-just waiting for confirmation. I told Sue that we were leaving on October 13 - because I had to wait for Julia (owner's daughter) to come for a visit that weekend because I ordered a cheesecake from her from her school's fundraiser. Walking the dogs this morning we saw a flock of wild turkeys at one of the lower cul de sacs. They could hardly contain themselves, they were so excited about seeing these creatures - something they have never seen before. So we went to where the turkeys were so Hayley and Lucy could smell where they walked and put that in their minds.
Talked to one of the residents down the street who has a pack of sledding dogs. She is going to start training them this week and she takes them through the campground on their training route. She has about 10-12 dogs that pull an ATV so they can be conditioned for their eventual trip across the country dog sledding. I got some pictures of them coming through the campground.
Sue has changed our schedules to Saturday to Tuesday, and I get to clean the office bathrooms and game room on Sunday and then the main bathrooms on Monday. The other workamper woman here has back problems and cannot handle bending over without her back going out, so I guess that is why Sue put me on the cleaning detail. Tonight was pretty boring - worked six hours from 2-8 with nothing to do, and the phone must have rung five times. So I spend my time on the computer and reading. Now we have three days off - grocery shopping and laundry tomorrow. If it warms enough, we may work on the trailer. Need to get on the roof and look into the refrigerator vent - we hear critters behind the frig and need to find them so we can get rid of them. They are looking for a winter habitat and must look at trailers as a good place to store their winter fare.
September 30, 2012. Cannot believe it's the last weekend of September already. Where has the summer gone? Seems we did not get to do the things we really wanted to do, but we have three days this week to put the canoe in the river, paddle upstream for a while and then coast back down - hope the weather cooperates. Also want to take a drive up the North Shore north of Duluth along the lake and see some of the changing colors and other sites.
Worked on the trailer this week - the awning is in dire need of replacement and is coming loose from the cover, so I got up there and put awning tape and then duct tape hooking the awning to the cover. Hope this temporary fix lasts a while. Camping World has a new awning on sale for $1,095, so we may just have to buy it and put it on hold until we get to a Camping World to have it installed. There is one in Chattanooga so we could have it done when we leave Amazon before we get to Atlanta. Also got under the front of the trailer where the plywood has delaminated and put roof tar there to keep water from doing any more damage than it already has. Still need to get along the sides of the trailer and the back, but need some Get Rot in there first.
House still has not rented. Told the management guy that we would like to be able to sell the house, so we are waiting on paperwork from him to put it on the market. Our neighbor Frank is being a jerk again. Jack went to see our house yesterday (29th) and Frank was out in the ditch putting in what looks to be a concrete structure impeding the flow of water. I am glad Jack went yesterday, what coincidence that Frank chose now to start working on the ditch and Jack got a couple of pictures of Frank's handiwork. I have sent the pictures to the management guy to have him check it out and contact the county if need be. I will be so glad to be rid of the house and away from Frank - him and Maria have totally changed over the years - from friends to enemies - but it was their doing that started it (but that's another story not to be told here) and keeps their anger fresh.
October 10, 2012. Wrote a letter to Dekalb County Code Enforcement and emailed them the letter and a good picture showing Frank's handiwork as we think Frank may be doing this work without a permit or variance. Ha - I can't wait to hear what the investigation turns up.
Decided to go ahead and put the house on the market to sell. Don't know how long that will take, but hope it does not take too long to get it sold. Our guess is that nothing will start moving until after the election and people settle down into their routines again.
We are packing up and heading out on Saturday, October 13 - Ellie's 2nd birthday and Josh & Karen's 5th wedding anniversary. I am hoping we can get out on Saturday since it's calling for rain up here and I don't know how much we want to pack in the rain. I guess if we have to wait until Sunday to leave it won't be that bad.
Looking forward to seeing Marilyn again - it's been a long time. Also will spend some time with Jeff Brookbank; then from there to Maple Heights for about 1-1/2 weeks to visit family and friends. Hoping to hit the Bourbon Trail but we will see if that happens. Need to be in Campbellsville, Kentucky on November 3 so we can be there a couple of days head of our start date with Amazon on November 5. Looking forward to seeing Terry & Evelyn again - and I know the "girls" will be beside themselves with joy seeing them again as well.
October 14, 2012. On the road again. The weather was turning quite cold in Danbury - it was 19 degrees Friday morning while I was out walking the dogs, and we were ready to hit warmer weather. We bought a water softener when we got there because the water was so hard with iron it turned everything orange. Did not think we were going to use it again, so I sold it to a seasonal couple who was looking to buy one. Win-win situation - we made some of our money back on it and they were able to get the softener they wanted at a discount.
Today we are in Portage, Wisconsin at the Sky High Campground. Jim was not happy coming in last night - dark and foggy (and it was only 6:30 pm) - no lights on the street and he could not see. I had to get out of the truck and walk down the road so he could see where he should drive. Today it is still raining and yucky. Still going to try to get out of here in an hour and head farther south. We came here because it is part of Passport America and we get our site for half price - so instead of $30 all we paid was $15. Can't beat that!
After leaving lose to noon and driving through a horrible rain and wind storm, we got close to Utica, Illinois around 4:00 pm, and Jim said he was getting tired and would not mind stopping for the night. I quickly was able to pull out my Passport America book and locate a campground right in the area. That does not happen very often, but we lucked out and pulled into Hickory Hollow Campground. The half price cost with PA was only $18.50 - well worth the night stop. The wind did not stop most of the night and the trailer was even swaying from the wind gusts. This is a very nice campground - we have a nice concrete slab with full hookups and did not even have to unhook to stay fairly level (unlike last night's site). Took the dogs on two walks this evening - one when we got here and then another one right before dark. Getting dark close to 6:30 pm is a drag - just do not like the winter when it gets dark so early.
Since we were able to stop so early we got to Skype with Josh & Karen to help Ellie celebrate her 2nd birthday. (Glad this campground has good WiFi!) She sat in the chair in front of the computer pretty good and seemed to really enjoy seeing us. She still recognizes us even tho we do not see her very much. Karen made her a beautiful cake which they had yesterday. Jim & I sang Happy Birthday to her and then she opened up our present - a book called Fluffy the Porcupine.
October 15, 2012. Visiting with Marilyn Ostby in Walkerton, Indiana. What a spread they have here - old country back road surrounded by a corn field. Hayley & Lucy are having the best time running and chasing the critters. I have some pictures of her place in the Photo Gallery. Got the trailer set up just fine in their driveway - it was perfectly level side to side! Took Marilyn to lunch today at a bar called Club 23 Bar & Grill in downtown Walkerton; then back to the house so she could pick up Deven at school and get back in time for Reese (RJ) to get off the school bus. Beautiful windy day here; temp a warm 64; low tonight 54 with a chance of rain tomorrow afternoon and a high of 70. Need to figure out about visiting Jeff now and if we can park the trailer on his street or if we have to go to a campground, but first I am going to take the dogs for a walk down the street.
October 20, 2012. Left Marilyn's place on Thursday and drove an hour to Jeff Brookbank's place in Syracuse, Indiana. Jim backed into one of his driveway's and nicked the front right fender on the Excursion on a telephone pole :( but ended up backing into OK. Jeff lives in a small part of Syracuse right on Lake Wawasee where there is a wide variety of houses along the lake and along the side streets. The houses range from new multi-million dollar houses to small cottages that look like they have been here a long time. Boat garages look like they are ready to fall into to canal. There are so many squirrels running around the yards - the dogs are going nuts running after them and barking them up a tree. Cannot let them run free because there are quite a few other dogs in the neighborhood and I don't want any fights. Found a wooded path through the woods that just led up to the main road, but the story there has the grave of a girl who just got dumped there with no one ever being charged with the murder. How sad.
Jeff drove us to Shipshewanee Friday, the Amish city, but it was raining so much that we did not get out and walk around anywhere. Also stopped at Fruit Hills Winery for a tasting; late lunch at Essehouse, which is very over rated. Heard people actually come and stay at their hotel just to eat there. I did not think the food was very good - mashed potatoes seemed boxed; turkey was canned and the green beans from a can. Not home made, which is what I was expecting. I did stop in their bakery and bought a loaf of bread, apple cinnamon bread and chocolate chip cookies. We also stopped at Guggisberg Cheese Factory, home of the original baby swiss, and of course had to buy some cheese there; and the Hostetler's Hudson Museum, which has the most complete collection of Hudson's in the world. If it did not cost $8 a person for the tour, we would have done that but Jim & Jeff just talked to the owner and got a brochure.
Also stopped at Ligonier's welcome center and talked with the lady in there for quite a while. Found out she and her husband used to full time RV and are life members of the Escapees (and yes, I got my hug). That was an interesting place with a lot of antiques, so I took some pictures. Ligonier is also the place where the Wilkinson Sister Quilt Company originated- all the quilts were hand sewn.
Sunday will be heading to Ohio to visit with my Dad. We were just going to park the RV on the street but he just called this morning and said that the police are starting to ticket people for parking on the street. For pete's sake, why do they bother on a small dead end street? He said we could park in Uncle Jim's driveway, but then we have to deal with dumping our tanks and enough electricity to run things. So we are thinking about staying at Punderson State Park in Newbury, Ohio, which is about 22 miles one way from Dad's house. Of course, we have the same problem there b/c we will only have electric and will have to fill our fresh tank to have water. And if we fill up our tank before we leave, we will have to get our portable tank out of the canoe and use it to haul the water away. At Uncle Jim's we could just haul it to the end of the street and dump it into the woods.
October 26, 2012. Arrived in Maple Heights Monday (10/22). Dad drove to the police station and talked with a lieutenant and we got permission to park in front of his house for the week - both the trailer and the truck. Went to dinner at Pat's house Monday night. The dogs are having a field day chasing squirrels and deer - there are so many up here. They treed a squirrel in the apple tree that sits in his front yard, so I got a video of that. Took the dogs into the woods the other day and boom, they were gone chasing deer or rabbit. Took a while but they eventually came back. This morning they saw some deer out the back window and of course the minute I opened the door they took off into the woods after them. Took a while for them to come back this time as well, but at least they do. I worry about them in the woods because on the other side of the creek is a train track and then a train and shipping yard, which runs 24/7.
Tuesday we went to LabCorp to get our drug tests for Amazon. Went to the closest location and they were having maintenance problems with their toilets (they would not flush) so we had to drive another 25 minutes to another location to get them done. Could not do it another day as we are coming down to the wire to get them done. Tuesday night we hung around the trailer with Dad and ate left over's from Monday night's dinner. Jim also worked on the mudflap that came off at one of the campgrounds.
Wednesday was a beautiful day (up to 75) so I took advantage and did all the laundry and cleaned the trailer, and Thursday was even nicer (77) so we washed the truck and the trailer. Boy that was a chore for us old folks. The truck wasn't so bad but the trailer was really hard. I got up on an old wooden ladder and washed the roof while Jim worked on the sides of the trailer. They look so pretty - white and clean.
Friday the cold, rainy front came through. Skyped this morning with Josh & Karen - Dad & Pat came down to the trailer and was able to talk with Josh and see Ellie. They thought that was quite something being able to see them so far away. It was nice being able to talk with them again. We are looking forward to seeing them in January. Hopefully we will survive Amazon. Got an email from our workamper friends, Terry & Evelyn, who helped us get the job at Amazon and Terry said they are being worked hard by Amazon. Friday afternoon we were going to do some shopping but all we got to was the bike shop where we got rid of an old Huffy that Josh bought years ago; are having the guy tune up a bike we bought for Jim but is too small for him, which I am now going to ride and bought Jim a new/used Schwinn. Stopped in at Jim's old high school Chanel and he went in and walked the halls a little bit and talked to a few people there.
Friday night we had dinner with my brother Mike, his wife Diane, and their daughter Kimberly and her boyfriend Matt. It was a nice evening at Applebee's - good food. We discussed our workamping, Mike's biking and of course, Dad and his vertigo and what the doctor's are (or aren't is a better term) is doing to help. I think Mike & Diane will now jump in and see that he gets checked for more. The doctors are trying to tell him that his imbalance is not due to anything in his ears - now, what sense does that make? Our balance comes from our inner ears and they are trying to tell him there is nothing wrong with his ears and is not the cause of his vertigo?
Took some walks in the woods that I grew up in. Sure is different and nothing like I remember it. The old paths are not there anymore and some that I seem to remember are overgrown. The hill that we used to sled ride down is full of weeds and grass and trees at the bottom that have fallen over. The creek bed is dried up and has moved, just like it always used to do.
October 28, 2012. Had a nice visit with Emma Katula Saturday afternoon. It is always nice visiting with her - she is a pleasure to talk to. Fixed her two smoke detectors. Put another battery in the one on the main hall and put it back up; but then we kept hearing another one chirping. Heard it the other day and mentioned it to her; thought the man who came to clean her house was going to fix it, but he did not. So I went upstairs and took it down and put a new battery in it for her. Finally no more chirping - I am sure Chamile will be happier now.
Jim's friend Nick Klasovsky came over Saturday afternoon too, to visit with Jim for a while. They had a good visit - it is always good seeing old friends. Sunday afternoon we went to visit Jim's Uncle Frank & Aunt Martha. They sold their house and are now living in a facility in Strongsville. I guess they like it OK, but I think miss their house. After that we went to see Dan Kellner, a friend of Jim's from high school and college. Jim thought he had died since he had not heard from him in so long; Dan said he was out of commission for about 30 years and finally got back into life. Went to dinner at Longhorn and talked some more.
The weather has been horrible the last few days as well. The storm that just came through is now being pushed back onto us because of Hurricane Sandy that is barreling up the east coast. Calling this the storm of the century and for New England to expect flooding. Maple Heights is calling for lots of rain the next three days with heavy winds Monday through the night. Have not decided which day we are leaving - not Monday. Probably Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.
October 30, 2012. Met with Barry & Marlene Edelstein for dinner Monday night. How wonderful it was to see them again. We had a great time catching up with each other's lives. I just wish we would have kept in touch more over the years and visited with each other more often. But now that each of us are empty nesters and we are traveling around the country, I am hoping they and our other friends will come visit us while we are workamping in Tennessee next summer.
Hurricane Sandy has brought so much rain and wind Monday and Tuesday as well as snow south of Columbus toward Cinncinnati, that we decided to put off leaving until Wednesday. Wind gusts were up to 60 mph. The dogs are very tired of the rain - they run outside a little bit then are ready to head back inside.
Emma Katula cooked some food for us - potato salad and something else I don't know what it's called (but it's good!) noodles with cabbage. Jim and I took her plates back to her this afternoon and sat and talked with her for a couple of hours while Dad went to a church outing. We always enjoy talking with her and miss talking with George as well. Next time we come up here we will be parking our trailer in her driveway, which she had offered this time but Dad forgot to tell us that.
Jim is enjoying a new Clive Cussler book - a gift from Marlene, and by coincidence is one that he did not have. I am trying to get back into reading my book - somehow I just have not found a lot of time here. I have a lot of books to read, plus keep this website updated, and sometimes I just cannot find the time. I will just keep on going.
Back to Daily Journal 2012
But, after calling, talking to the nurses, and sending a letter to Dr. Corkran, he did write a letter on Jim's behalf so we could get the job at Amazon. I sent the letter to Kelly, our rep at Amazon for confirmation that it is OK, and am now waiting on his reply that the letter is OK and that the brace Jim wants to wear will pass the Safety Manager's approval. Also asked Kelly if Amazon had an earlier start date, as we would like to leave here earlier than the end of October. The other workampers here said they would be happy to stay until the campground closes as they did not have any place they had to go to. Even if Amazon did not have an earlier start date for us, we could leave at the beginning of October, visit Marilyn & Jeff longer, and stay in Maple Heights visiting longer as well. As it stands, if we left Oct. 24, we would really be pushing it to be in Campbellsville, Ky on November 10. And we want to compete the Bourbon Trail as well before going to Amazon. So if we left here earlier, we would have plenty of time to do all of that before starting work at Amazon.
Lucy took the drain tube out of her leg on Wednesday morning, just before going to the vet for a checkup. The vet is very pleased with her progress and even though her leg is still a bit swollen, she said it will go down. She still has another few days of antibiotics, which I will finish to assure that her leg does not get an internal infection. Her stitches are scheduled to be removed on Thursday, Sept. 13.
Fall feels like it is coming early - temp today was 61 with rain off and on. Low tonight is mid-40's. It will get warmer later in the week, but that won't last. The leaves are falling at a rapid rate, but have not turned into fall colors yet. Would like to take the scenic trip up the North Shore Drive, which will take a couple of days. But since we are thinking about leaving here earlier than our contract end, I don't know if we will have the time to do that.
September 10, 2012. Contemplating on leaving at the end of the month. Our fellow workampers have expressed an interest in staying here until the campground closes, leaving us free to take off if we want to. Still have not had confirmation from Amazon that we will be able to work there. Called, talked to the nurses, and finally faxed Dr. Corkran a letter on Friday telling him that we needed a letter from him in order for Jim to go to work at Amazon, which I then emailed to Amazon. We are still waiting to see if their Safety Manager wll approve the type of brace Jim wears. We have fufilled their requirements, but now we are waiting to hear from what we have given them will allow us to work there. Would like to hear back from them soon so we know that we have a winter job, or do I have to look for something else. Will email again tomorrow if I do not hear from them. I do not like being up in the air about where we
are going for the winter - kind of disconcerting.
The job at the Port Aransas campground probably will not happen since I wanted to leave there mid-February and they want someone to stay through March. I would like to start our new position at Tremont RV Resort in Tennessee in March, but we may have to work until March in a winter position - seems that is what their schedules dictate, if Amazon falls through.
So i we do take off early, we may head northeast in Wisconsin and into the northern part of Michigan to do some sightseeing and then down the coast of Michigan before visiting with Marilyn and Jeff.
Schedules have changed for us here since Terry & Evelyn left. Jim & I now start our week on Sunday and work until Wednesday. Sue said she may change that and put us on Saturday. The campground is pretty dead. This past weekend we had a total of about 20 campers here, not including the seasonals. During the week there are about 1-2 other campers here, not including seasonals or workampers, making it for a very quiet week.
September 12, 2012. Walking the dogs this week - first thing in the morning at 7:30am heard coyotes howling off in the distance - sounded like they were coming from the other end of the campground. Hearing them worries me about taking the dogs for a walk and letting them loose to run around. Heard they are not very afraid of humans anymore. Did find some different skat on one of the roads at the lower end - Lucy smelled it but Hayley would not go near it. She usually has no hesitation about smelling dog scat, so I wonder what dropped this stuff.
September 16, 2012. Everything is a go with Amazon. Right now our start date is November 12, however, I emailed them and asked if we could start any earlier. The next earlier start date is November 5 and we are now waiting to hear from Amazon to give us the OK to start then. Until we hear from them, we are up in the air as to when we will leave Minnesota and head south. Our first stop will be Indiana, then Maple Heights for about two weeks, then on to Campbellsville, Kentucky. Every so often Jim comes home and says he is ready to leave right now - Jerry said something (again) and got him mad. Jerry just has this way of saying things - he has no social skills and tends to just "talk" instead of thinking how is making the other person feel. Jim's job is splitting and stacking firewood - Jerry wants the firewood shed filled before the end of the season. It's backbreaking work and many of the seasonals think Jerry works his workampers too hard and that is one reason they don't want to come back to work. It is a lot of work considering Jim & I only get $600 a month for our labor.
When I read the work requirements of other workamping jobs, none of them require this much physical labor. I hope the next job we have in Tennessee is not this hard for him.
Working at Amazon is going to be a bit grueling - 8-10 hour days for five weeks, but in the end it will be worth it. We will make enough money and be able to take off the months of January and February and then start our new position in March. January we will spend in Texas visiting Josh, Karen & Ellie; February in Mexico Beach, Florida at Rustic Sands RV Park; the TCT Rally at the Sertoma Youth Ranch in Brooksville the third week of February, then travel north to Tennessee.
September 25, 2012. Days are counting down for us now. We are hoping for a November 5 start date with Amazon-just waiting for confirmation. I told Sue that we were leaving on October 13 - because I had to wait for Julia (owner's daughter) to come for a visit that weekend because I ordered a cheesecake from her from her school's fundraiser. Walking the dogs this morning we saw a flock of wild turkeys at one of the lower cul de sacs. They could hardly contain themselves, they were so excited about seeing these creatures - something they have never seen before. So we went to where the turkeys were so Hayley and Lucy could smell where they walked and put that in their minds.
Talked to one of the residents down the street who has a pack of sledding dogs. She is going to start training them this week and she takes them through the campground on their training route. She has about 10-12 dogs that pull an ATV so they can be conditioned for their eventual trip across the country dog sledding. I got some pictures of them coming through the campground.
Sue has changed our schedules to Saturday to Tuesday, and I get to clean the office bathrooms and game room on Sunday and then the main bathrooms on Monday. The other workamper woman here has back problems and cannot handle bending over without her back going out, so I guess that is why Sue put me on the cleaning detail. Tonight was pretty boring - worked six hours from 2-8 with nothing to do, and the phone must have rung five times. So I spend my time on the computer and reading. Now we have three days off - grocery shopping and laundry tomorrow. If it warms enough, we may work on the trailer. Need to get on the roof and look into the refrigerator vent - we hear critters behind the frig and need to find them so we can get rid of them. They are looking for a winter habitat and must look at trailers as a good place to store their winter fare.
September 30, 2012. Cannot believe it's the last weekend of September already. Where has the summer gone? Seems we did not get to do the things we really wanted to do, but we have three days this week to put the canoe in the river, paddle upstream for a while and then coast back down - hope the weather cooperates. Also want to take a drive up the North Shore north of Duluth along the lake and see some of the changing colors and other sites.
Worked on the trailer this week - the awning is in dire need of replacement and is coming loose from the cover, so I got up there and put awning tape and then duct tape hooking the awning to the cover. Hope this temporary fix lasts a while. Camping World has a new awning on sale for $1,095, so we may just have to buy it and put it on hold until we get to a Camping World to have it installed. There is one in Chattanooga so we could have it done when we leave Amazon before we get to Atlanta. Also got under the front of the trailer where the plywood has delaminated and put roof tar there to keep water from doing any more damage than it already has. Still need to get along the sides of the trailer and the back, but need some Get Rot in there first.
House still has not rented. Told the management guy that we would like to be able to sell the house, so we are waiting on paperwork from him to put it on the market. Our neighbor Frank is being a jerk again. Jack went to see our house yesterday (29th) and Frank was out in the ditch putting in what looks to be a concrete structure impeding the flow of water. I am glad Jack went yesterday, what coincidence that Frank chose now to start working on the ditch and Jack got a couple of pictures of Frank's handiwork. I have sent the pictures to the management guy to have him check it out and contact the county if need be. I will be so glad to be rid of the house and away from Frank - him and Maria have totally changed over the years - from friends to enemies - but it was their doing that started it (but that's another story not to be told here) and keeps their anger fresh.
October 10, 2012. Wrote a letter to Dekalb County Code Enforcement and emailed them the letter and a good picture showing Frank's handiwork as we think Frank may be doing this work without a permit or variance. Ha - I can't wait to hear what the investigation turns up.
Decided to go ahead and put the house on the market to sell. Don't know how long that will take, but hope it does not take too long to get it sold. Our guess is that nothing will start moving until after the election and people settle down into their routines again.
We are packing up and heading out on Saturday, October 13 - Ellie's 2nd birthday and Josh & Karen's 5th wedding anniversary. I am hoping we can get out on Saturday since it's calling for rain up here and I don't know how much we want to pack in the rain. I guess if we have to wait until Sunday to leave it won't be that bad.
Looking forward to seeing Marilyn again - it's been a long time. Also will spend some time with Jeff Brookbank; then from there to Maple Heights for about 1-1/2 weeks to visit family and friends. Hoping to hit the Bourbon Trail but we will see if that happens. Need to be in Campbellsville, Kentucky on November 3 so we can be there a couple of days head of our start date with Amazon on November 5. Looking forward to seeing Terry & Evelyn again - and I know the "girls" will be beside themselves with joy seeing them again as well.
October 14, 2012. On the road again. The weather was turning quite cold in Danbury - it was 19 degrees Friday morning while I was out walking the dogs, and we were ready to hit warmer weather. We bought a water softener when we got there because the water was so hard with iron it turned everything orange. Did not think we were going to use it again, so I sold it to a seasonal couple who was looking to buy one. Win-win situation - we made some of our money back on it and they were able to get the softener they wanted at a discount.
Today we are in Portage, Wisconsin at the Sky High Campground. Jim was not happy coming in last night - dark and foggy (and it was only 6:30 pm) - no lights on the street and he could not see. I had to get out of the truck and walk down the road so he could see where he should drive. Today it is still raining and yucky. Still going to try to get out of here in an hour and head farther south. We came here because it is part of Passport America and we get our site for half price - so instead of $30 all we paid was $15. Can't beat that!
After leaving lose to noon and driving through a horrible rain and wind storm, we got close to Utica, Illinois around 4:00 pm, and Jim said he was getting tired and would not mind stopping for the night. I quickly was able to pull out my Passport America book and locate a campground right in the area. That does not happen very often, but we lucked out and pulled into Hickory Hollow Campground. The half price cost with PA was only $18.50 - well worth the night stop. The wind did not stop most of the night and the trailer was even swaying from the wind gusts. This is a very nice campground - we have a nice concrete slab with full hookups and did not even have to unhook to stay fairly level (unlike last night's site). Took the dogs on two walks this evening - one when we got here and then another one right before dark. Getting dark close to 6:30 pm is a drag - just do not like the winter when it gets dark so early.
Since we were able to stop so early we got to Skype with Josh & Karen to help Ellie celebrate her 2nd birthday. (Glad this campground has good WiFi!) She sat in the chair in front of the computer pretty good and seemed to really enjoy seeing us. She still recognizes us even tho we do not see her very much. Karen made her a beautiful cake which they had yesterday. Jim & I sang Happy Birthday to her and then she opened up our present - a book called Fluffy the Porcupine.
October 15, 2012. Visiting with Marilyn Ostby in Walkerton, Indiana. What a spread they have here - old country back road surrounded by a corn field. Hayley & Lucy are having the best time running and chasing the critters. I have some pictures of her place in the Photo Gallery. Got the trailer set up just fine in their driveway - it was perfectly level side to side! Took Marilyn to lunch today at a bar called Club 23 Bar & Grill in downtown Walkerton; then back to the house so she could pick up Deven at school and get back in time for Reese (RJ) to get off the school bus. Beautiful windy day here; temp a warm 64; low tonight 54 with a chance of rain tomorrow afternoon and a high of 70. Need to figure out about visiting Jeff now and if we can park the trailer on his street or if we have to go to a campground, but first I am going to take the dogs for a walk down the street.
October 20, 2012. Left Marilyn's place on Thursday and drove an hour to Jeff Brookbank's place in Syracuse, Indiana. Jim backed into one of his driveway's and nicked the front right fender on the Excursion on a telephone pole :( but ended up backing into OK. Jeff lives in a small part of Syracuse right on Lake Wawasee where there is a wide variety of houses along the lake and along the side streets. The houses range from new multi-million dollar houses to small cottages that look like they have been here a long time. Boat garages look like they are ready to fall into to canal. There are so many squirrels running around the yards - the dogs are going nuts running after them and barking them up a tree. Cannot let them run free because there are quite a few other dogs in the neighborhood and I don't want any fights. Found a wooded path through the woods that just led up to the main road, but the story there has the grave of a girl who just got dumped there with no one ever being charged with the murder. How sad.
Jeff drove us to Shipshewanee Friday, the Amish city, but it was raining so much that we did not get out and walk around anywhere. Also stopped at Fruit Hills Winery for a tasting; late lunch at Essehouse, which is very over rated. Heard people actually come and stay at their hotel just to eat there. I did not think the food was very good - mashed potatoes seemed boxed; turkey was canned and the green beans from a can. Not home made, which is what I was expecting. I did stop in their bakery and bought a loaf of bread, apple cinnamon bread and chocolate chip cookies. We also stopped at Guggisberg Cheese Factory, home of the original baby swiss, and of course had to buy some cheese there; and the Hostetler's Hudson Museum, which has the most complete collection of Hudson's in the world. If it did not cost $8 a person for the tour, we would have done that but Jim & Jeff just talked to the owner and got a brochure.
Also stopped at Ligonier's welcome center and talked with the lady in there for quite a while. Found out she and her husband used to full time RV and are life members of the Escapees (and yes, I got my hug). That was an interesting place with a lot of antiques, so I took some pictures. Ligonier is also the place where the Wilkinson Sister Quilt Company originated- all the quilts were hand sewn.
Sunday will be heading to Ohio to visit with my Dad. We were just going to park the RV on the street but he just called this morning and said that the police are starting to ticket people for parking on the street. For pete's sake, why do they bother on a small dead end street? He said we could park in Uncle Jim's driveway, but then we have to deal with dumping our tanks and enough electricity to run things. So we are thinking about staying at Punderson State Park in Newbury, Ohio, which is about 22 miles one way from Dad's house. Of course, we have the same problem there b/c we will only have electric and will have to fill our fresh tank to have water. And if we fill up our tank before we leave, we will have to get our portable tank out of the canoe and use it to haul the water away. At Uncle Jim's we could just haul it to the end of the street and dump it into the woods.
October 26, 2012. Arrived in Maple Heights Monday (10/22). Dad drove to the police station and talked with a lieutenant and we got permission to park in front of his house for the week - both the trailer and the truck. Went to dinner at Pat's house Monday night. The dogs are having a field day chasing squirrels and deer - there are so many up here. They treed a squirrel in the apple tree that sits in his front yard, so I got a video of that. Took the dogs into the woods the other day and boom, they were gone chasing deer or rabbit. Took a while but they eventually came back. This morning they saw some deer out the back window and of course the minute I opened the door they took off into the woods after them. Took a while for them to come back this time as well, but at least they do. I worry about them in the woods because on the other side of the creek is a train track and then a train and shipping yard, which runs 24/7.
Tuesday we went to LabCorp to get our drug tests for Amazon. Went to the closest location and they were having maintenance problems with their toilets (they would not flush) so we had to drive another 25 minutes to another location to get them done. Could not do it another day as we are coming down to the wire to get them done. Tuesday night we hung around the trailer with Dad and ate left over's from Monday night's dinner. Jim also worked on the mudflap that came off at one of the campgrounds.
Wednesday was a beautiful day (up to 75) so I took advantage and did all the laundry and cleaned the trailer, and Thursday was even nicer (77) so we washed the truck and the trailer. Boy that was a chore for us old folks. The truck wasn't so bad but the trailer was really hard. I got up on an old wooden ladder and washed the roof while Jim worked on the sides of the trailer. They look so pretty - white and clean.
Friday the cold, rainy front came through. Skyped this morning with Josh & Karen - Dad & Pat came down to the trailer and was able to talk with Josh and see Ellie. They thought that was quite something being able to see them so far away. It was nice being able to talk with them again. We are looking forward to seeing them in January. Hopefully we will survive Amazon. Got an email from our workamper friends, Terry & Evelyn, who helped us get the job at Amazon and Terry said they are being worked hard by Amazon. Friday afternoon we were going to do some shopping but all we got to was the bike shop where we got rid of an old Huffy that Josh bought years ago; are having the guy tune up a bike we bought for Jim but is too small for him, which I am now going to ride and bought Jim a new/used Schwinn. Stopped in at Jim's old high school Chanel and he went in and walked the halls a little bit and talked to a few people there.
Friday night we had dinner with my brother Mike, his wife Diane, and their daughter Kimberly and her boyfriend Matt. It was a nice evening at Applebee's - good food. We discussed our workamping, Mike's biking and of course, Dad and his vertigo and what the doctor's are (or aren't is a better term) is doing to help. I think Mike & Diane will now jump in and see that he gets checked for more. The doctors are trying to tell him that his imbalance is not due to anything in his ears - now, what sense does that make? Our balance comes from our inner ears and they are trying to tell him there is nothing wrong with his ears and is not the cause of his vertigo?
Took some walks in the woods that I grew up in. Sure is different and nothing like I remember it. The old paths are not there anymore and some that I seem to remember are overgrown. The hill that we used to sled ride down is full of weeds and grass and trees at the bottom that have fallen over. The creek bed is dried up and has moved, just like it always used to do.
October 28, 2012. Had a nice visit with Emma Katula Saturday afternoon. It is always nice visiting with her - she is a pleasure to talk to. Fixed her two smoke detectors. Put another battery in the one on the main hall and put it back up; but then we kept hearing another one chirping. Heard it the other day and mentioned it to her; thought the man who came to clean her house was going to fix it, but he did not. So I went upstairs and took it down and put a new battery in it for her. Finally no more chirping - I am sure Chamile will be happier now.
Jim's friend Nick Klasovsky came over Saturday afternoon too, to visit with Jim for a while. They had a good visit - it is always good seeing old friends. Sunday afternoon we went to visit Jim's Uncle Frank & Aunt Martha. They sold their house and are now living in a facility in Strongsville. I guess they like it OK, but I think miss their house. After that we went to see Dan Kellner, a friend of Jim's from high school and college. Jim thought he had died since he had not heard from him in so long; Dan said he was out of commission for about 30 years and finally got back into life. Went to dinner at Longhorn and talked some more.
The weather has been horrible the last few days as well. The storm that just came through is now being pushed back onto us because of Hurricane Sandy that is barreling up the east coast. Calling this the storm of the century and for New England to expect flooding. Maple Heights is calling for lots of rain the next three days with heavy winds Monday through the night. Have not decided which day we are leaving - not Monday. Probably Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.
October 30, 2012. Met with Barry & Marlene Edelstein for dinner Monday night. How wonderful it was to see them again. We had a great time catching up with each other's lives. I just wish we would have kept in touch more over the years and visited with each other more often. But now that each of us are empty nesters and we are traveling around the country, I am hoping they and our other friends will come visit us while we are workamping in Tennessee next summer.
Hurricane Sandy has brought so much rain and wind Monday and Tuesday as well as snow south of Columbus toward Cinncinnati, that we decided to put off leaving until Wednesday. Wind gusts were up to 60 mph. The dogs are very tired of the rain - they run outside a little bit then are ready to head back inside.
Emma Katula cooked some food for us - potato salad and something else I don't know what it's called (but it's good!) noodles with cabbage. Jim and I took her plates back to her this afternoon and sat and talked with her for a couple of hours while Dad went to a church outing. We always enjoy talking with her and miss talking with George as well. Next time we come up here we will be parking our trailer in her driveway, which she had offered this time but Dad forgot to tell us that.
Jim is enjoying a new Clive Cussler book - a gift from Marlene, and by coincidence is one that he did not have. I am trying to get back into reading my book - somehow I just have not found a lot of time here. I have a lot of books to read, plus keep this website updated, and sometimes I just cannot find the time. I will just keep on going.
Back to Daily Journal 2012