On the shores of Lake Superior

We left Chippewa Falls this morning en-route to Two Harbors, MN.  It was 172  miles and an easier drive than the last couple of driving days.  The scenery was gorgeous.  In the Superior/Duluth area there was some fog.  Not enough to hinder travel, just enough to make it look neat!

Iowa is NOT flat!

Sunday we left Sandy Beach Campground, Coralville Lake, MO at 8 a.m., and arrived at Eagle Ridge Campground, Chippewa Falls, WI at 2:30.  A long day for us. There's a large ball park across the street where they seem to have a lot of tournaments.

The Journey begins, part 14

We stayed at Jamaica Beach Resort in Galveston through most of December.  Shelling on Jamaica Beach was a favorite activity of mine. As with quilt material I enjoyed finding shells, but didn't do anything with them!

A beautiful park and fun town

Chris and Pat working on the retractable step.

Chris came out to lend a hand this morning, and lucky for us, pecan caramel rolls from My Mom's Bakery in Ely, were in those helping hands when he arrived. Before Pat and Chris began the projects we all had one.  HEAVENLY!!

Good afternoon Iowa!!

We left Grain Valley, MO this morning at 9 and arrived at Solon, IA late this afternoon.   It was a longer day than usual. We are staying at Sandy Beach campground at Coralville, Lake.  It's about 10 minutes from Ely, IA where our youngest son lives.

RV for sale!! $55k obo

No, it's not ours.

Help, I need a crane!

The Nelson-Adkins Museum of  Art in Downtown KC is closed until further notice.  It is normally open 6 days a week and is FREE.  It has collections from nearly every continent and culture, as well as a large collection of Asian art. Tuesday we went to see the "Donald J Hall Sculpture Park" which is located on the grounds of the museum.  There were several people, families and pets strolling the grounds.  A large open space between columns of trees with benches, had a young family playing ball.  Sitting on a bench as we entered, was an artist sketching one of the sculptures.  It was a gorgeous and very peaceful green space.

Fun day downtown

We have lived in, or near, KC long enough to visit Union Station, Crown Center, the Plaza, the zoo, Kaleidoscope,  Royals Stadium, Science City, among many others. Some of these we have been to several times.  They are certainly something to go to again and again.  Today, however, was probably our last day to do something fun here, at least this trip, so I wanted to do something a little different.  Taking a lead from our daughter-in-law, Toni, and the fact that most indoor activities are closed, we headed downtown.

Last Monday in Grain Valley

Trailside RV park is not big, and on the older side, but has very nice people.  The county has allowed pools to open, with a limited attendance, and they are working on getting their pool open.  Bathrooms and showers aren't open yet so you need to be self-contained.  It's very conveniently located to fast food (particularly my Sonic), a larger grocery store and even a movie theater, although it hasn't opened up yet.  Grain Valley is a nice little town.

The Journey began, part 13

We made it, Jamaica Beach Resort, Galveston, where we would spend the first month of "winter."  After having spent not much more than a week in any one spot since we left Grain Valley, and many times just a night or two, we were excited that we wouldn't have to move for a month!  We enjoyed the people, location, weather and amenities this park offered.  It was about an hour to our son's house.  It wasn't hot, but there were many "shorts" days.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to Pat, Josh, Eric, Oscar and all other Dad's out there!

Lexington, MO

Lexington, MO, a small town of about 4,500, is 30 miles north east of Grain Valley.  We took a trip there today to view some of it's history. The Courthouse was built in 1847 and is the oldest in continuous use west of the Mississippi.

Fixes and Fails - Checking Fluids

When we were in Galveston for the Winter, I decided I should probably check the engine fluids in the RV. Oil and transmission checked out fine, but I could see on the expansion tank that I needed more coolant.

The extent of our celebrating....

We celebrated our anniversary with a take-out pizza from Minsky's.  It is a local KC pizzeria with 18 locations.  When we lived in Lee's Summit we loved to go Waldo Pizza for pizza and a glass of wine.  Each table had a box of trivia cards and we had fun entertaining ourselves with those until the pizza arrived.  They both have great pizza!  Pat said Minsky's was supposed to have arranged the pepperoni in a "42" configuration.  Do you see it?

Happy 42nd Anniversary Pat--June 17! ❤

June 17,  1978

It takes a bit of planning

When we had kids at home, I spent most of my winter planning a two week summer vacation.  Evaluating the budget, picking a route, and looking for free or inexpensive things to do that would please 5 different people.  We were tent campers and often traveled quite a distance in that time period, visiting quite a few different parks and sites. 

The Journey begins, part 12

Smokey Mountain National Park is one of my favorite places to visit.  When the boys were little we always had fun here.  On Oct. 31, Halloween, we checked into an the RV park Rippling Waters in Sieverville, TN.  It was raining, but we made it to the park, unlike Shenandoah.  We stopped at Sugar Lands Visitor's Center and took a short trail to Cataract Falls.  We took a driving tour, Roaring Fork, Motor Nature Trail and saw the devastating affects of a 2016 forest fire.

To drain, or not to drain, that is the poll question tonight.....

We went on a road trip this afternoon.  Pat was in charge!  A surprise first stop was the Odessa Country Winery, LLC in Odessa, MO.  Google said they were open, they were not!  Next we went to LaBella Vineyards and Winery in Wellington, MO.  They were open but due to Covid they couldn't do taste testing nor serve us a single glass of wine.  Pat selected Renegade Red that said, it "would unleash our wild sides."  It did not. She was allowed to open the bottle and give us 2 plastic glasses and we headed toward the deck with a pretty view of a pond.  It was a sweet red wine, but not too sweet as Pat thought it was ok.

Where, oh where..

We only have a week and a half till we leave Grain Valley, MO.  Where will we go?  I've already asked for help for WI so you know we will be going there.  We aren't sharing the rest.🤐  It will definitely be cooler, but hopefully, not too cold.

Fixes and Fails - Sleep Number bed

I think we slept on our RV's original bed for only a night or two before we decided that bed was not going to cut it.  It was foam and only about 4" thick.  So, we came up with another solution...

Too cool!

Last night (Tues.) was dinner with Josh, Zia, Cyrus and Samira.  We often end up with similar menus.  Tonight it was burgers on both ends.  Ours were meat, I'm guessing theirs were vegetarian.  Both kids really liked them.  The kids were very excited when they got to the table.  Zia had the play structure together in Cyrus's room, and had secured the first part of it--the slide.  What a hit!  They went down again and again landing on the bed.

Interesting spot, great wine too!

If you are in Kansas City be sure to visit Bevoir Winery and Inn.  We sat outside on the covered porch of the old Odd Fellows Home in Liberty, MO, where they are housed, and enjoyed lunch today, cheese, bruschetta rounds and a glass of wine each.  It was beautiful and comfortable on the covered porch, despite the hot temperatures.

Plans change

Our plans have changed for July.  Being retired, one day, one week, and even one month just runs into another.  We finally decided on where to go in July, only to realize tonight, that over July 4th might be difficult.  Pat was finally successful in getting a place over the 4th and surrounding days, but the battle isn't over!

The Journey begins, part 11

On Oct. 29th we spent our first travel night in St. Claire, PA in a Walmart parking lot.  It was convenient with Home Depot and Tractor Supply adjoining.  We were in coal country.  St. Claire is known for making squibs, fuses and caps for mining. Just across the parking lot was Vitosi's pizza, place with coal-fired pizza.  Did you know coal burns cleaner than wood?  The pizza and bread, by the way, were fantastic!

I only thought it was hot the other day🤪

We were excited to put our new decals on the vehicles today.  Fastsigns said they would adhere better in warmer weather.  That being the case, with temperatures in the 90's, they should be stuck for life.  We had two with a black outline to go on the glass on the front of the RV and rear window of the car, and a solid white one for the back of the Palazzo.  A little mix up but it didn't affect the outcome at all.

FINALLY, BB's Lawnside BBQ

In my opinion, BB's Lawnside BBQ, https://bbslawnsidebbq.com/, is the best in KC!  This morning was errand day: Fastsigns to pick up our vinyl decals for the RV/car, Petco for dogfood and treats, of course, Joann Fabrics, Price Chopper for wood chips for tonight's ribs and, drum roll🥁, BB's.  

Fixes and Fails - BBQ

When we first started considering full-time RVing, we knew there was no way we could bring our Weber Genesis propane grill, but we still wanted something.  I felt I had actually gotten pretty good at smoking ribs on the Weber and we did not want to give that up.

HOT, HOT, HOT!

VERY hot and humid today.  In the 90's.  I thought I went out early to walk but I only did one and a half miles, just too hot.  Not many people out.

No pain, no gain

Cheers!

I always think about the saying, "Things always seem to get worse before they get better."  I think I like this one better, "It may get worse before it gets better, but it always gets better."  Whereas I hope those sayings apply to our country right now (the getting better part), they also apply to me today!  

Spring cleaning

We found another group of 8 goslings the othernight.  These seemed a little older. 

Everything we read prior to our journey said we would bring too much stuff.  Saturday we decided to go through our main storage areas, under our bed inside, and the double door storage area with the slide out tray in the basement.  We already took the folding table and chair I brought for my sewing machine to the storage unit.  I found it works as well to sew from the captains chair using the dash to set the machine on.