Bubble plans again - Day 889 (Yr 3, Day 156)

Raleigh, NC

Not too, too far out of whack thankfully.  Mitch was contacted by his nationwide boss today, saying that the person who was supposed to do a job in Del Rio, TX is having problems with his rig and can't make it, and would he be interested?  Being 10 miles from the Mexico border, we said YES!  The assignment is only about 2-3 days and we're told that as long as it gets done before Christmas, there's no rush to get there.  It appears that our route will still put us through Houston, so we will plan (please -- no bubble popping!!!) to spend the following weekend there so at the minimum we can visit my HS friends.  We're told that after the Del Rio assignment, we might return to Houston, or be somewhere in northern TX, OK and/or LA.

Very busy work day today, and one of my clients gave me a huge assignment, so I will need to plan work time during our travels.

Thanksgiving, next steps - Day 888 (Yr 3, Day 155)

Raleigh, NC

Looks like I haven't written for an entire week, and for a change, it was not (mostly) "same old, same old."  Guess I've been a little busy and distracted.

Mitch's brother & sis-in-law (Fred & Twila) arrived from Florida last Sunday (they're the ones who so generously opened their home to us a few years ago when I dislocated my hip and subsequently had revision surgery).  It was great to see them, and beagle Harvey.  They recently purchased a nice camper, and parked next to us at the Fairgrounds.  On Sunday night, we went to dinner with Jess & Griffin - to Crazy Fire (the mongolian grill place).

On Monday, Mitch had a dr. appt to get his prescriptions renewed, and to start one more time with a new primary care physician (something we need to do in every town we land in for more than a month).  We had a few errands to run, including picking up the rx's at CVS inside Target.  Fred & Twila also wanted to do some shopping so they came with us.  We all had a delicious lunch at Mitch's favorite places (and now one of Twila's) - Noodles & Co.

On Tuesday, I had my follow up dr. appt.  Dr. was not happy with the dose of thyroid medication I was given at the hospital -- he felt it was way too high and gave me an rx for a lower dose.  He was also a little concerned about my low levels of a lot of vitamins & minerals and wants to address that down the road.  He also heard a heart murmur and referred me for an echo-cardiogram, which I will be having this coming Wednesday. Tuesday night we made a campfire with Fred & Twila.

On Wednesday, Griffin's mother, sister & niece came to Raleigh and Mitch's sister Doris came in the evening (Jess picked her up from the train station).  We went over to their house to help with the setup and had some pizza for dinner.

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and it was great being with all the extended family and friends (although we did miss Griffin's dad who had to work, and Mitch's other sister who had to stay in NJ with her son's in-laws).  It was a great day of socializing, relaxing, eating & drinking.  There were 4 dogs there and they were all very well behaved!

Friday was a day spent in preparation for Shabbat, so we didn't really spend time with anyone.  All the others met for dinner Friday night, but we chose to stay home and observe the Sabbath.  On Saturday, we went to the Raleigh Chabad.  There's a huge rabbi convention in Brooklyn (pretty much all the Chabad rabbis from all over the world go there -- several thousand of them!).  We knew the Cary shul would be closed, but there were folks in Raleigh who could lead the services.  I confess I really like the Cary synagogue much more -- I think the people are just so much friendlier and welcoming.  After services, we went to the kids' house and just hung around with them and Doris.  After nightfall, we picked up Fred (sadly, Twila wasn't feeling well) and we went to dinner at Dos Taquitos - the Mexican restaurant with the crazy, cool decor.

Which brings us to today - Sunday.  Fred & Twila left around 8:30 this morning, after we said our good-byes.  Mitch has some puttering to do and I'm defrosting the freezer, doing some cleaning and planning a route (more about that below).  Doris needs to be taken to the train station tomorrow (Monday) morning.  We offered to do so since the kids need to go to work, so she will sleep over here tonight.

So now, the "next steps" part of this post -- late Wed. afternoon, we got the word that we are to head to Houston, TX!  Several of Mitch's peers that he's come to know will be on that team.  Currently, it's unclear whether that utility company has renewed the contract after 12/31, but even if they don't, there is plenty of work in Texas, so I suspect we'll either be in Houston or traveling around the state until at least the spring.  Mitch has been offered to return to MDU for next spring/summer/early fall (ND/SD/MT) but right now he'd much rather see if he can get an assignment in Utah.  But that's down the road - let's get through this next assignment first.

Anyway, we would have left today or tomorrow, but I want to have that test done first.  If for any reason I require further treatment, Houston is a big place and I can surely find a good medical center there.  So we shall leave on Thursday morning.  Other than settling at a campground for Shabbat, I'm not making the same kinds of plans as before.  We will travel with serendipity.  We're not going to push ourselves beyond our limit, which is around 150-200 miles a day, but rather than plotting exactly where that is and finding the closest campgrounds, we'll plan to stay at rest areas, Walmarts or possibly a winery or farm (all free).

A little scare - Day 881 (Yr 3, Day 148)

Raleigh, NC

In my last post, I mentioned how I wasn't feeling very well.  To be honest, it was pretty scary.  I had some pain in my arm, tingling in my legs, spasms in my lower back, heart palpitations, and kept feeling very light headed, like I was about to pass out.  For the past month or so, I've been getting this light headedness, and severe pain in my calves.  Although I didn't have pain in my chest, I read about silent heart attacks in which that symptom might be absent.  The way I was feeling in shul was extremely scary -- I knew something was amiss.  I was prepared to go to the ER after services, but I thought it would be best to just go home and rest.  That did seem to help and I felt a bit better the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, in the evening, the pain in my arm and the light headedness returned.  I had already arranged to see a doctor on Tuesday morning, but at 11:00 I decided that maybe, in case it was something serious, it didn't make sense to wait, especially since I do get symptoms at night while I'm asleep.  So we went to the ER.

It was empty and I was taken in right away.  They ran an EKG, did a chest x-ray and took some blood.  After waiting and waiting and waiting, finally at 1:30 the doctor had the results -- I have hypothyroidism.  After Googling this, all the symptoms I've been experiencing are indeed inline with this.  It's not a serious condition and can easily be treated with medication.

On another note, Fred & Twila have left a day early and will be here this afternoon instead of tomorrow.  Can't wait to see them, plus it gives me a good excuse to procrastinate on some of the errands I was going to do today!

Post-Shabbat thoughts - Day 880 (Yr 3, Day 147)

Raleigh, NC

We did get the truck back yesterday, after all (and another $1200 later).  This has not been a very good month financially, with all the truck repairs and Mitch not working.  I need to pick up another client or 2 to replenish the savings.  Any of my dear readers know anyone looking for admin support?

Anyway, we were able to go to shul (Chabad of Cary) where we were welcomed back with open arms.  It was nice to hook up with our old friends and this is definitely one of my absolute favorite places.  I particularly like not only all the enthusiastic singing, but that rather than just reading the Torah, it is like a mini-study group, with discussions and Q&As.  Then there is also a separate "woman's circle" where all the women go into another room to pray, learn, or just schmooze.  And of course, there's always a lovely lunch!

I wasn't feeling very well today, so we came back and I rested a while. I did feel a bit better afterwards.  We tried to sit outside to read, but it was extremely windy (I felt like we're back in the Dakotas where NO wind is an event!).

Plans are to go to the supermarket later this evening.  Tomorrow I hope to get my hair cut.

Pre-Shabbat thoughts - Day 879 (Yr 3, Day 146)

Raleigh, NC

As you know from yesterday, our truck was finally towed at 4:30 pm.  Around noon, they finished the diagnostics and determined it was a problem with the FICM (fuel injection control module), which unfortunately was not a part that was replaced previously, so we're looking at yet another $1500.  Mitch picked up the shuttle at 1:30, although they made no promises to have the truck finished today; they only promised to try.  I guess we'll have to see how that goes and PIBE (play it by ear) for tomorrow and Monday morning (he has a dr. appt at 8:30 which may need to be postponed).

We did not go shopping last night - I guess we were feeling too cheap to take a taxi or Uber to the store.  Other than mushrooms, which is one of our traditional Shabbat dishes, we had everything else we needed to prepare a nice dinner, and nothing else on our list was so critical that it couldn't wait another day or 2 or 3.

Sadly, it was a really light work day, and if we had the truck, it would have been a great opportunity to go out and explore.  I would have liked to go to the downtown area and at the very minimum, have lunch at our favorite vegetarian restaurant.  Oh well... plans in bubbles, as always.

The good and the bad - Day 878 (Yr 3, Day 145)

Raleigh, NC

Work was pretty light yesterday, so our purpose was to shop at an RV supply place.  There were a few items we needed:  replace captain's chair that's being held together with duct tape, see if we could find a plastic cover for our light fixture (no), buy a new water pressure regulator, and buy new outdoor step covers since ours were torn.  We really don't like Camping World, and we found another place in Raleigh that sold supplies.  Unfortunately, they were very small and had limited inventory, so we landed up also going to CW anyway.  We returned around 2, I worked for a little while, and then we headed out to meet Jessica at 5.

Before going out to dinner, she brought us over to their friends' house (Shannon & Jason).  They recently purchased a top of the line VR (virtual reality) system and wanted to us to experience it.  It was really awesome, and words really can't capture what it was like.  If you ever have a chance to experience VR - definitely try it!  We then all went out to dinner at BJs brewery where I had a portobello burger (yum).  Very nice evening.

Now for the bad... I had a lull in my workload this morning.  We desperately need to go shopping, so we decided to head out and get it done early.  I wanted to go to Trader Joe's, as it's the only place around where I can buy kosher meat and I wanted to make chicken for Shabbat.  We get in the truck and it wouldn't start!  It sounded like it was trying to turn over, so we didn't think it was a battery issue.  We called roadside assistance and told them to send someone for a jump or a tow if that didn't work.  Two hours later (11:30) someone finally showed up. As expected, the jump didn't work.  The mechanic thought it had something to do with the fuel system (which is what we just spent over $5K to have repaired back up in North Dakota.  Fortunately, they used Ford parts and told us if anything went wrong, we should bring it to a Ford dealer, have them call and it was all under warranty).

Naturally, even though we explained the type of tow truck we needed, they still sent the wrong one.  We were told they would return with the right equipment in 1/2 hour.  It's now 12:45 - almost an hour later and we're still waiting.

The unknowns at this point is whether they can work on it today, and if so, if they have parts in stock.  And if not, how do we get around to do our shopping and go to shul on Saturday?  We can't afford to rent a car because our auto policy is not standard - it's more like a homeowner's policy so it does not cover rental cars, which means having to pay the extra $25-30/day for that coverage.  We'll keep our fingers crossed that if it comes to that, perhaps they will give us a loaner car for a few days.

Never a dull moment.  I just have to keep reminding myself that things break down in regular cars and homes so even if we gave this all up, we'd still have things that need fixing.

UPDATE:

What a long, horrible day!!!  One comedy of errors after another.  Finally, at 1:30, the 2nd tow truck arrived.  As he was hooking up our truck to his, something on his truck broke, rendering it out of service.  He said he would have another (3rd) truck sent within the 1/2 hour.  An hour 15 mins. later, we called for an eta and were informed that they didn't have another truck available.  Gee, it would have been nice if they let us or the roadside assistance company know so they could call another company!!!  So, starting from scratch at 2:30, we finally got another company here at 4:00 (remember, we started this at 9:30 this morning).  We did not ride with them, as there would have been no way to get back (the Ford dealer only runs their shuttle until 3:30).  But we left notes and they will pick us (actually, just Mitch) up in the morning.  The next glitch is that the place they were going to tow us didn't even exist!!!  It was an address to a company that went out of business 20 years ago, not to the Ford dealer we needed.

You know I always count my blessings and look for the silver lining, which there was lots of.  For one, it was a gorgeous day - blue skies and in the high 60s.  Next, we are in a very nice place, have family nearby and are not stranded in the middle of nowhere (like we were in Peoria).  Third, if this is indeed a fuel line issue, it should be covered under warranty.  Lastly, we can choose to take a taxi or Uber to the local supermarket, but we have all the right ingredients and supplies to make a nice Shabbat dinner tomorrow -- nothing so critical on our shopping list that we absolutely have to go out tonight.  On the downside is that if we don't have the truck back by the end of tomorrow (which depends on whether they need to order parts or not), we won't be able to go to shul on Saturday which is a big let down since that has been our home away from home for the last 5 years, and the rabbi will be away the following week.  Who knows, perhaps we'll still be here the week after.

Nice to be back to our home away from home - Day 876 (Yr 3, Day 143)

Raleigh, NC

I didn't mention yesterday that Mitch's project du joir was fixing the toilet.  For a while, it hasn't been able to hold water in the bowl, and we suspected the seal needed replacing again.  He spent a few hours taking the thing apart, cleaning it and replacing the seal.  Unfortunately, this morning, not only was it still not holding water, but it was leaking when we flushed.  He suspected that he didn't put the toilet back on the stand properly, or something was misaligned, so he spent another few hours today taking it apart and putting it back together.  IT WORKED!!!  Water in the bowl again!

We also treated ourselves to something special today - a total rig and truck wash!  It was one of the many items on Mitch's to-do list, but yesterday we saw a company out here washing other rigs and decided since they work in the area and have much more efficient equipment (and people) than we do, it was worth the investment ($175 for both plus the awning).  They did an amazing job and now "the Beast" looks brand new again.  The Dakotas added a lot of mud and dust, and the drive added a lot of squashed bugs.  I learned that the owner's wife and daughter clean the inside of rigs, so I'm thinking of maybe hiring them to get to the nitty gritty areas I can't reach and make all the woodwork sparkle again.  I always to the basic cleaning, but, let's face it, I don't polish the closet doors or dust under the sink and stuff like that. It would be nice for the inside to sparkle like new again too.

I've always loved this campground and it's amazing how really wonderful it is now when it's mostly empty.  We're in the same premises as the horse complex where lots of training and tournaments go on all the time.  One of these days, maybe we can spend some time and watch.  It'd be almost like a rodeo.

The work day ended on a really great note -- a surprise visit from Jessica and Ellie!  I didn't think we'd see them until tomorrow as she had an appointment after work, but she decided to visit for a short while.  Ellie seemed to enjoy running around in the wide open field while we talked.  It was awesome!

Another thing that was really awesome -- Jessica just returned from a wedding which took place in our old neighborhood in NJ.  She visited some of our old haunts (including the house) and our favorite bagel store where Mitch used to buy his breakfast -- a salt breadstick -- almost every day.  Jess went to visit there and the owner (Lori) not only remembered us (after almost 3 years) but remembered Mitch's "usual" order and sold one to her to give to him!!!  I have to remember to call there tomorrow morning and thank her.  So here's a shout out to FANWOOD BAGELS.

Reached our destination - Day 875 (Yr 3, Day 142)

Raleigh, NC

After 2 weeks of almost non-stop travel, we have thankfully reached our destination yesterday.  We know we will be here at least until the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  Still don't know when/where the next assignment is.

I have to tell you it was exhausting, but such a joy, to "set up house" once again.  When we're in travel mode, many items need to be put on the couch, tied or bungy-corded down, or put away.  It doesn't feel like home, but more like a cluttered tin box.  It was well worth the effort to put things away and take things out to make this our living quarters once again.

We got up at 7 am and were almost ready to set out at 8:30.  However, there was a minor calamity that delayed us by 1/2 hour -- I was doing the breakfast dishes when Mitch disconnected the water.  I only had 1 cup left, and the water that was still left in the hose was enough (barely) to finish rinsing it.  I think my mind associated the fact that there was no water left with the fact that the faucet was off.  Well, fast forward a little bit later, when we were just about ready to do the last item of closing the slides.  I had a sudden cramp and needed to use the bathroom.  In order to flush, I needed to put the water pump on (which uses the water in our tanks as opposed to the city water from the hoses, which were now disconnected).  When the water pump is in use, you can hear it running.  While sitting on the toilet, I heard the pump but didn't think anything of it.  A few minutes later, I heard the sound of running water.  It then occurred to me that I never turned the kitchen tap off!  I had run out of water, but now that the water pump was on, so was the kitchen sink.  By now, I had put the covers on the sink, so all the water was running out of the faucet, down to the floor, behind the cabinets and onto the living room carpet -- a nice little flood!  Mitch came in and we just kept loading the area with towels until the flooding stopped.  Fortunately, it was only from the water that ran while the faucet was on -- it wasn't like a busted hose that wouldn't stop.  And it was only running for about 2 minutes.  Half hour later, we were ready to pull out.

The ride was uneventful, although we did need to go through a lot of mountains in Western NC.  Because of the draught, many fires are being lit to avoid out-of-control wildfires, but driving through the area was extremely smoky (we experienced that at the campground Saturday as well).  There was an eerie yellow haze and my eyes felt a bit irritated.  Otherwise, driving through the TN and Western NC mountains are beautiful.

We arrived at the NC State Fairgrounds at about 2:00 (we stopped at 3 rest areas to change drivers and to take a few little naps).  Once again, we had a back in spot which would have been a 1-2-3 job for most others.  But after 45 minutes, thankfully the park ranger came by and helped guide us in (he remembered us from the last time we were here).  We really can't back into spaces!!!  I think the problem is that Mitch can't follow directions and I can't give them.  It's like the blind leading the blind.  I'd say it's a comedy show, but after about the first 10 minutes, we start to fight.  It's incredibly stressful trying to park this thing!

So today starts at least a 2 week stint of being back on a routine (at least for me -- Mitch is still on vacation and using his time to work on various back burner projects).  We've had magnificent driving weather for the past 2 weeks, and today is the first day there's actually rain.  It's one of those steady, drippy kinds of showers -- the kind that makes you want to stay in bed all day.

Sadly, while we're here in Raleigh, our daughter isn't!  She'll be back some time this evening, but after an 8 hour drive, won't be in any shape to see us.  She also has plans tomorrow, so hopefully we'll all catch up towards the middle to end of the week.

9th (and almost last) travel day - Day 871 (Yr 3, Day 138)

Asheville, NC

Gee, remember that sub-heading?  Didn't think we'd return here, but it's nice to be back.  I'm really looking forward to seeing Ethylin again (she'll be joining us for Shabbat dinner); possibly Stacey for lunch or coffee tomorrow and Rabbi Susskind and hopefully a number of fellow congregants on Saturday.  Then it's off to Raleigh on Sunday for a few weeks.

The drive here from Kodak, TN was spectacular, although it would have been so much more amazing about 2 weeks ago when the fall colors were in full bloom (although you could still see some of it).  Gorgeous scenery through the Smokey Mountains - not only the colors but the shapes as well.  The only thing I didn't like were the mountain grades and the fact that most of the highway were very winding roads with a lot of trucks.  It was only 108 miles, and Mitch drove the entire way.  Great weather once again.

I'm not very impressed by this campground either.  I'm glad it's not terribly busy, as the sites are very close together.  The layout is atrocious as well: first, the road leading to the campground is up a very steep, very narrow S-curve.  The entrance and exit is in the middle of these curves, so you can't see if there's any oncoming traffic.  Speed limit in some parts is 15 mph but people are going about 40.  We reserved a pull through site (thankfully; we'd have a real hard time backing into any of the regular sites), and in order to get to it, we had to exit the campground and enter through a different area.

Thankfully my workload wasn't too heavy today.  I was so excited to go out shopping to my favorite store -- Trader Joe's!!!

8th day of travel - interesting drive - Day 870 (Yr 3, Day 137)

Kodak, TN

Kodak is in the same neck of the woods where we had our RV-Dreams spring rally in May, 2015 - near Seiverville, Pidgeon Forge and Gatlinburg.  Wish I had the time to go back to Gatlinburg and do the moonshine tours again!!!

For a change, we were able to hit the road on time (8:15 actually), but I think every driving obstacle there could be, we hit (with me behind the wheel for most of it.  Hey, it's a great way to get over my fears and anxieties!  I'm really proud of myself).

First there were the mountains (hills by most people's standards, but enough for me to feel the engine going into overdrive going up and the engine brakes going down).  Going through the mountains was really beautiful, though.  I can only imagine what it looked like a few weeks ago when everything was in full fall foliage colors.  Now we could only see the remnants of browns and reds.  Still, it was much nicer than passing through all that farmland or empty pastures, and a lot more enjoyable than passing through metropolitan areas with all the malls and big box stores.

Next was traffic, particularly a lot of trucks.  We passed through Knoxville, which is also a major metropolitan area with an impressive skyline.  Not sure if I mentioned this previously (forgive me if I did) - when I first started driving about 30 years ago, I was not only petrified of passing trucks, but driving around curves.  Now I pass them in my big rig, and drive around narrow winding curves as well!  Still, white knuckles!)  There were also several areas of road construction.

Last was a huge mistake that cost us about 45 minutes.  When we started getting upset and panicky, we had to remind ourselves that it's all part of the adventure....  When we got off the exit, the roads here are mountainous and very narrow and winding.  First, somehow we managed to miss the entrance to the RV park and had to go around in a circle on these types of roads to retrace our steps.  Then, when we got back to the road the park was on, the GPS told us we had reached our destination.  We didn't see an RV park sign; just something that said mobile home park, so we turned in.  WRONG!!  The RV park was actually about 200 yards farther down the road.  Of course, this little development was nothing but hills and narrow roads and private homes with no place to make a U-turn.  We pulled into a road with the hopes of being able to back up around a curve.  Oy, oy, oy!!!!!  I believe in Divine Providence and believe an angel was sent to guide us.  45 minutes later, a woman came by.  She said she was watching us; she didn't want to insult us by asking if we needed help but after so long, she'd take the chance.  Her parents owned RVs for many years and were also truck drivers, so she offered to help guide us.  We thankfully accepted.  Unfortunately, she wasn't quite as experienced as she thought and we were getting nowhere, so she decided to go back to the house and get her father.  He came out, took the wheel, and had us backed out and facing the right direction within 2 minutes - 1,2,3!!!  Geez - I wonder if we'll ever get that good at backing up!

We finally pulled into the campground, to find that it is really a huge field with a bunch of spaces for RVs.  It's pretty much totally empty here and is absolutely magnificent (except for all the hills and the white knuckle roads getting to it).  Even when full, there's just so much land.  Here are a few photos from various angles around our rig:

    


There are no lights in the campground that I can see, so if the sky remains clear, we may be able to see a blanket of stars.  I'm also  hoping that Mitch may be amenable to digging out our fire pit and wood and  we can take a bottle of wine outside and sit around a campfire. Stay tuned and learn if we did that or stayed indoors and watched tv.

7th travel day - again not much: Day 869 (Yr 3, Day 136)

Lebanon, TN

Once again, we got off to a later start than we hoped (left at 9:30) because when Mitch was hitching up, the king pin wasn't quite aligned at the right level and a pin came out of the hitch and the hitch became unaligned.  Fortunately, he was able to fix it without having to call in a tech, but it delayed us somewhat.  We arrived at our destination about 1:00.

During the drive, we hit a few spots of rain and a few spots of road construction (an aside: I remember when I first started driving decades ago and was so petrified to pass a truck.  Imagine what it's like driving our almost semi past a truck!  White knuckles, but I can do it!).  There were numerous trucks on the interstate today.  Again, similar scenery as yesterday, except the large city we passed was Nashville.  I didn't realize it was a city with skyscrapers!  Too bad we won't have time to visit there (we're also about 30 miles away).  We're out of farm country and now into mountain country.  Tomorrow we should be driving thru the Smokey Mountains.  It was probably really gorgeous here a few weeks ago.

I didn't have a chance to explore this campground (KOA) as I had a lot of work waiting for me when we settled in.  There was an adorable office and porch area.  Here's a photo of what greets you at the office:



It is, however, on a mountain and the sites are extremely uneven.  We didn't unhitch the truck so I'm getting vertigo when I move from the back to the front of the trailer! (you can't make it completely level when it's still connected).  It's only for overnight, so we'll manage.  We connected to the sewer so we could do our laundry.

Still complaining about how it's dark at 5:00.

Sixth travel day - not much - Day 868 (Yr 3, Day 135)

Marion, IL

We got off to a late start (1.5 hrs late: left at 9:30) due to a dead truck battery.  Apparently Mitch had left his keys in the ignition in the battery on position.  Our charger wasn't doing much good, but the campground owner was kind enough to bring over his truck and give us a jump.  We arrived in Marion, IL at 12:15.

Last night there were also 2 kitties (1 black and 1 gray/white) who befriended us.  This morning, while the truck was being jumped, the gray one acted like an attention starved toddler!  He just wouldn't leave me alone!  Here's a photo of him butting his head against the table where I was sitting, but most of the time he was doing that to me (or on the table behind me patting my head).  The 20-odd chickens were out and about running all over the place; interesting how he had no interest in chasing them.

  

The drive, again thank G-d, was mostly pleasant (except for a few places of road construction) and uneventful.  Along the highway, we passed many more large malls and big box stores.  We also passed through St. Louis and saw the arch (we were there in 2010 - pre RV days.  Almost got to ride up, but we were 5 minutes late and missed the last tour).  The best I could do was take a photo.  You can see the arch in the background:



The campground in Marion is pretty nice.  Again, mostly empty so it appears to be very spacious and has some nice amenities.  The area itself is extremely developed - reminds me a lot of Fargo, with lots of malls and strip malls and big box stores.  I had a lot of work to do when we arrived, but finished at 4:30.  Mitch needed to find a tire store to see if they could replace the valve stem.  We went to 2 places and the 2nd one determined we needed a new extender instead.  We went to Walmart for a few groceries and to see if they had one, but they didn't, so we'll try again next time we're near a large store (it was after 6 by now and we were both tired and hungry).

We're having trouble adjusting to standard time.  Just 6 months ago, it didn't get dark until after 10:00.  Now it's dark at 5!

Fifth travel day - Day 867 (Yr 3, Day 134)

Jonesburg, MO

Another uneventful travel day - thank you Lord for once again bringing us to our destination in safety, without incident and in beautiful driving weather.  Being a Sunday and not having the pressure of having to work in the afternoon, we were able to leave without having to rush.  We also gained an hour due to daylight savings time ending, so our bodies felt a little bit more rested when we got out of bed at 7:00 (note: we'll lose this extra hour later next week when we're back on Eastern time).  We went through the usual pack up routine and pulled out of that noisy (trains) campground at about 9:30.  We arrived at our new location about 12:30.

The drive itself had a few more things to look at.  We're still following the interstate system (today was mostly on I-70; previously it was I-29).  We passed by a few more cities (namely Columbia) and it seems that the farmlands are far less frequent.  Now, if we don't see big box stores along the road, it's a lot of billboards or just plain open space.  BTW, Jonesburg is about 70 miles west of St. Louis.  Most of the drive was a lot of rolling hills.

The campground we chose this time is a nice little gem (Jonesburg Gardens).  The sign entering the town says population 769 and it is clearly a very small town - nothing at all in the area, although there are a number of attractions within 10-70 miles.  The campground seems nice enough, although it is practically empty right now, so it's probably not quite as nice during peak season.  For now, it almost reminds me of the state park we stayed in last week, except that it also has a playground (we swung on the swings) and a little lake.  Since a license isn't needed to fish here, I was hoping to once again try my hand at casting without getting the line caught (LOL), but we couldn't figure out how to thread the line and Mitch didn't have the patience to go to YouTube to learn.  He did spend at least an hour trying to figure it out though, so at least we tried.  I wish we had a few more days to spend here, as I think they probably have a lot more to offer than meets the eye, including nature trails, exercise area, and campers tv lounge.  We had a gorgeous day (sunny, 70s), so we did get to spend some quality time outdoors.  We also discovered a bit of a farm.  It's not advertised, so I'm not really sure about the story behind it, but we found a pen of goats and chickens.  In fact, there was a loose chicken at our site when we pulled into our spot.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera available and it was gone by the time I had it.  We found it and it's siblings, around the bend a bit later.  There seem to be quite a lot of chickens roaming the premises.

I forgot to mention that today marks the 40th anniversary of when Mitch and I met (Friday will be our 38th wedding anniversary).  I wish there was a nice place to have dinner out, but alas, the only place in town is a place called "Frumpy Joes," and they don't have anything on the menu we can eat.  We'll be sponsoring the kiddush next week so we'll look forward to celebrating our anniversary with our old friends in Asheville.

Anyway, here are a few photos of the campground:

From our front door: the woods, the playground and some cabins (and our rig at the site)

      

The goats and the chickens:

  

The lake, including some ducks:

   

Tomorrow, we're off to Marion, IL and I have a somewhat heavy workload to look forward to.

Shabbat in Leawood, Kansas - Day 866 (Yr 3, Day 133)

Independence, MO

First - update on repairs:  all done -- electricity working nicely and no more humming from the hot water heater.  Paid our $100 deductible plus parts; about $170 of an almost $400 bill.

The drive to the shul, about 25 miles, took us almost 45 minutes, but it was very well worth it.  Services were really wonderful and very spiritually uplifting.  Nice place, nice people, lots of singing, and even a sermon and a few explanations.  If there was a campground closer, I would probably ask to spend an extended period of time with this community.  Hopefully we'll have a chance in our future travels to stop by again.

Tomorrow we resume our daily travels - heading to Jonesburg, MO.  See you then!  Tomorrow, Mitch and I also celebrate the 40th anniversary of our meeting (and 38th wedding anniversary on the 11th).

Fourth day - repairs needed: Day 864 (Yr 3, Day 131)

Independence, MO

Home of Harry S. and Bess Truman.

The drive was, thankfully, once again uneventful.  Since we went 50 miles farther yesterday, our trip today was only about 140 miles and only took about 2 1/2 hours.  We left Rock Port at 8:00 and arrived in Independence at 10:30.  Unfortunately, since we arrived earlier than check out time, the pull thru spot we wanted was still occupied, so we had to take a back-in.  One of the owners helped guide us in, though, so it only took about 15 minutes.

This is not one of the nicer campgrounds and I would not stay here again.  It is very crowded space-wise, hard to maneuver around, and is about a block from a very busy train track, with loud train whistles about every 10 minutes, all day and night.  And another place with non-stop barking dogs.  I did find, however, that most of the people here are very nice and friendly.  It was a mostly sunny day, around 70 degrees, so a lot of people were outside of their campers.  There isn't a lot of scenery to look at or places to walk.

Now, about the repair... last night, about 8:00, our electricity went out.  (Mitch admitted that he was having some problems getting it to start the last few days), but this time it went out and stayed out.  We called ahead to the campground we'd be staying at to learn if they knew of any RV mobile techs.  Very fortunately, there's a big and highly recommended and reputable company that works out here!  We called them and explained the problem and they agreed to meet us when we arrived (they actually ran a bit late and didn't show up until 3:00).  Turned out there were some loose wires in the cable which caused it to burn out, so the plug part needs to be replaced (something an electrician or RV tech needs to do -- not a DIY project, at least not for us).  They didn't have the part in stock, but promised to return tonight (didn't happen) or tomorrow morning.  While they were here, we also had them look at the hot water heater because it was still making a humming noise and I wasn't confident that the other person diagnosed it properly (since he never even looked at the unit and just said "you have hot water so nothing's wrong with it).  Turns out that, like many of my online peers suggested, it was a bad check valve.  Again, they didn't have the part and will need to return to replace it.  We couldn't have been more fortunate to have found some great techs (note: this is all covered under our warranty, including the onsite service call, although since the plug is a consumable, that may not be).

For a change, we're not in the middle of nowhere. We took a ride out to the local supermarket (Aldi).  It seems to be a very old, run down looking town, although there's a historical district and town square, which we haven't seen, so I can't draw my conclusions based on just this small area.  But this small area is kind of a dump.  But there are buildings and stores -- we're not surrounded by empty farmland!  Kansas City is also just a few miles away, and that's a very large city.  I'm told that driving there is like driving in NYC, so I think we'll stay away.

I'm hoping that tomorrow afternoon maybe we can pull away for a few hours and visit the Truman Library or his home but we have to play that by ear. I have 2 conference calls tomorrow; the last one being at 12:30 to 1:30, so that's the earliest I can leave.  Plus we have to prepare for Shabbat, which means cooking and baking.  Plus we don't know when the RV techs are coming back.  I really hope in the morning, or at least before my last call is over, but if not, then that will hinder plans as well.

Third day - uneventful - Day 863 (Yr 3, Day 130)

Rock Port, MO

Feeling grateful and blessed that today mostly went off without a hitch.  We left just a tad later than we wanted (8:30) but that was ok.  The plan was to drive to a campground in Pacific Junction, Iowa.  I miscalculated the distance -- it was only about 156 miles, so we decided to look for another campground about 50 miles further, which is how we ended up here (the first place didn't take reservations so we had nothing to lose by not showing up).  We were even very lucky in that there was a torrential downpour that we ended up missing by about 15 minutes!  The roads were still wet, but the sun was out by the time we arrived.

Rock Port isn't exactly in the middle of nowhere, but it's not a big city either (pop. 1300) - no big box stores or malls nearby.  This is a small, very wide open and nice place and the owners are extremely friendly. There is even a corn field along the edge of the property (a few weeks earlier, we could have picked some but alas, it was all harvested). Nice place to stay for a few days, or overnight in our case.

To clarify "mostly" in the opening sentence... there seems to be a problem with 2 of our tire valves in that the tire monitoring system sensors aren't working because the valves need to be replaced.  This is something a truck tire shop needs to do.  As we got off the highway, we saw such a place, which is literally just up the road from the campground.  So Mitch decided to unhitch the truck and go over there while I did my work.  Unfortunately, they didn't have the parts in stock.  The real problem was that we're parked kind of on an angle, so it took almost 1 1/2 hours for Mitch to get the truck hitched back up again.  I'm glad we did it today, though and not in the morning!  That would be incredibly stressful!

We also discovered that the shul in Kansas City, MO that we were planning to go to doesn't have Shabbat services.  The rabbi recommended a different place - in Leawood, KS [note: this area is right on the border of MO and KS].  As it is, the first place was about 15 miles away from the campground, and this one is about 25.  It's a bit more than we like to drive for services, but the only campground that's closer has terrible reviews, is very small and cramped, and no one answers the phone so we don't even know if they're open.  I was getting stressed trying to figure out what to do, but we decided to just drive the extra 10 miles.

Second stop: a bit harrowing - Day 862 (Yr 3, Day 129)

Beresford, SD

Timing went pretty well: we were able to leave around the time we had hoped (8am) and arrived at 1:00.  It would have been closer to noon if not for the little delay....

The first order of harrow was that despite my instinct and confidence that we needed to make a right turn out of the campground, the GPS was telling us to go left and Mitch insisted I do so (I took the first leg of driving).  That led us about a mile down a dirt road with nothing but nothing as far as the eye could see, except for a small driveway which looked like it had something at the end of it.  Turns out it was some kind of parking lot leading to an airport runway, so we were able to turn around without having to go into reverse.  That was about a 15 minute delay.

For the most part, the scenery on the 3 1/2 hour drive was nothing but farmlands (mostly wheat) and pastures with a few cows dotting the land.  So much wide open space this country has!  Boring to drive through, but grateful that it was uneventful and mostly flat land.

The second part of harrow was when we got off the exit.  We are staying in a state park (first time -- Union Grove State Park).  We didn't realize that there was a detour to the park (actually, there was a sign before the exit, but I had read online that there was construction during the summer.  I kind of thought they meant it was only during the summer and they just didn't update the website.  WRONG!).  We got as far as about 500 feet from the entrance, where the road was closed, and needed to turn around and go back to the highway and get off at a different exit.  But was there an easy place to turn around??  Fortunately, we caught a small break in the road where we were able to just very barely turn around without having to do a K turn.  Mind you, this isn't like turning a car -- think of a huge semi truck!  Heading back to the highway, we missed our turn (these are single lane roads with nothing on either side except farmland) and landed up going about 10 miles out of the way to pick up the highway again.  We took the detour exit and hoped there would be signs leading us to the park, since the GPS kept telling us to go back to the original exit.  Thankfully, there were signs and we landed up on the other side of the road block.

Third harrow: the roads in the park.  This is the first time we've ever stayed in a state park.  They are known to be quite beautiful, but not being private campgrounds, are often somewhat primitive and not designed for big rigs.  I chose this place because they had a pull through site (no way on earth we'd ever be able to back in here!) with electric.  The roads were very narrow and very loopy.  Mitch navigated it like a real pro!  We had a map of the campground and it appeared that the campsites should have been very close to the entrance.  After riding all around, we determined we were probably lost.  Suddenly, two guys on a golf cart came riding by (probably sanitation workers?) and we asked them to show us where we were on the map and how to get to the camping area.  They had no clue and pointed to a place on the map far away (but said the whole place loops around so eventually we'd get there if we just followed the road).  So we continued and discovered that about 500 feet away was the campground!!!  We must have gone full circle without realizing it (and clearly, neither did they).

If we thought yesterday's place was quiet and serene, this place is wildly remote - true wilderness in the woods.  Here are some photos: first 2 are from my front door; the other is from the other side of the trailer:

    

It's too bad that we're not hikers; there are many good trails around here.  In fact, one trail starts right outside our campsite, so maybe we can take a short walk down the trail later.  For now, I need to work, and Mitch has started on one of his many projects (today it's rewiring cables in the truck so he can plug in his chargers).