Our Great Big Road Trip

Tennessee Snow Storm

2008-03-07T15:40:00.002-06:00

They handle the snow a little differently here in Tennessee than they do back in Wisconsin. It would have to snow pretty hard in Viroqua for the schools to close. It was not unusual at all for it to snow 3-4 inches, but school started on time and went all day anyway.

Last week, we got about a half inch of snow here in Tennessee and school was closed all day. Today, the weather report is calling for a total of 4 – 6 inches starting tonight through tomorrow afternoon. Even though it hasn’t started snowing yet, school ended an hour early because they didn’t want to take a chance that the snow would move in before the schools closed. The kids got a good laugh out of this, although they were more than happy to leave school early.

Kim called a few minutes ago from work and said that a lot of the people at her office are planning on going to the store to stockpile food for the weekend. They are afraid that they won't be able to go anywhere until at least Sunday. Even then, they are not sure any stores or restaurants will be open.

By the way, Canoecopia starts today in Madison. This is the first time we have missed the event since I was being treated for cancer in 2004. It's only the second time since we moved to Wisconsin in 1999 that we'ved missed the show.

In case you don't know, Canoecopia is a huge canoe and kayak show put on by Rutabaga, a large canoe and kayak shop in Madison. In addition to a ton of exhibitors showing everything from canoes and kayaks, to outfitters from all over the world, to outdoor clothing manufacturers, Canoecopia features seminars throughout the weekend on topics related to canoeing and kayaking. It's a great event and one that I will really miss going to this year.

Review: Tomato Tomato

2008-03-05T09:16:00.001-06:00

Kim’s parents visited last weekend on their way back from Florida to Illinois. On Friday, we decided to try a new pizza place called Tomato Tomato. The pizzeria is just off the square on West Main St.

After a short wait, we were shown to our table. Tomato Tomato is not very big, so the tables tend to be a bit close. Even so, the atmosphere is comfortable and casual.

T.T. has several beers on draught, including a fishbowl mug of PBR for just $2.00. Kim’s Dad couldn’t resist and had to try one. As I looked around the restaurant, a lot of other people were taking advantage of the offer as well.

The pizza at T.T. is a bit different than other pizza places. Although they offer the traditional pies, they specialize in pizzas that are a bit more gourmet. For instance, they have a list of pizzas, each named after a nearby street, that include unusual ingredients or combinations of ingredients. We ended up ordering three different pizzas; a four cheese pie for Shelby and Lou, and then Kim, her parents and I ordered a College St. (four different types of mushrooms covered in bleu cheese) and a Vine St. (white pizza with EVOO, truffle oil, some sort of Italian cheese (whose name escapes me), and we added portabella mushrooms).

The four cheese pizza was excellent, with a thin, extremely tasty crust, excellent sauce, and a perfect blend of cheeses. The Vine St. was also very good. It had an excellent taste. The pie had a lot, but not too much, garlic, which really made it delicious. My favorite was the College St. The combination of a very good thin crust, excellent sauce, four different types of mushrooms, and plenty of cheese made the pizza a joy to eat.

We definitely enjoyed the pizza at Tomato Tomato. The restaurant has a great atmosphere, excellent service (Ted was our waiter and he did a great job), and wonderful, tasty pizzas. On a scale of 1 – 10, Tomato Tomato gets a 7.5.

Back to School

2008-03-04T19:55:00.000-06:00

The kids started school today and I’m more nervous about it than they are. I hate that we are putting them through this. Even though Shelby is outgoing and friendly, she has her group of friends back in Viroqua and she’s not particularly interested in establishing new friendships. I’m sure she eventually will make new friends, but I hate that she has to go through this.

Review: Marina's Restaurant

2008-02-28T13:33:00.000-06:00

While we were waiting for our furniture and other possessions to arrive in Murfreesboro, we decided to check out a pizza place that we heard was “pretty good.” Marina’s is an Italian restaurant (as opposed to a pizzeria) on North Maple St. just off the downtown square.

Marina’s is located in an old building that has served as a restaurant since it was built in the early 20th century. The décor honors the age of the building and very little has been done to update it.

Our waitress, Sara, was very friendly and offered us some helpful information about the businesses on the square. She also told us that in her opinion, Marina’s has the best pizza in Murfreesboro. That sounded promising.

We ordered two pies, a cheese for the kids and a sausage and mushroom for the adults. The kids gave a big “thumbs up” on the cheese pizza. They ate the whole thing, so I didn’t get a chance to try it. However, I did get to try the sausage and mushroom pizza and it also gets a “thumbs up.”

Marina’s was very generous with the mushrooms, but not so much on the sausage. The crust was thin and very good, while the sauce was tasty and for a change there was enough of it.

Overall, our experience at Marina’s was very good. The service was top notch and on a scale of 1-10, the pizza gets a solid 7.

FAQ About Our Move

2008-02-26T14:34:00.001-06:00

My last post probably created more questions than it answered. So here are some questions and answers about the move.

What about the agency? I meant to say something about this before, but I forgot. I’ll be keeping the agency. I’ll be splitting my time between Viroqua and Tennessee. It’s not a perfect solution, but I’m going to do my best to make it work. The year has started out unusually well for the agency (January and February are usually REALLY slow), so I’d like to keep the momentum going. Eventually, I’d also like to get a cabin and a few acres in Viroqua where I can stay when I’m there and where we can spend time in the summer. All in due time…

What’s going to happen to the RV? I’m not sure yet. Since we won’t be living in it any more, I’m tempted to sell it. However, I’ve also thought about keeping it for weekend trips. Tennessee has a lot of really great state parks we could explore, so the RV could come in handy. On the other hand (or is it the first hand?), if we sold it, the money would come in handy. As you can tell, I don’t have any idea what we are going to do with the RV.

Are the kids going back to “regular” school? Yes. In fact, the Lascassass Elementary School (grades K-8) is just behind the house we are renting.

What about the blog? I can’t live without the blog. Will you keep writing your blog? I think I will. Our road trip may be over, but our mutual adventure through life continues. If you’ll keep reading, I’ll keep writing.

Why do you move so often? Good question. I wish I knew.

The Rest of the Story

2008-02-24T19:29:00.000-06:00

If you read my last post, you know that we have called an end to our great big road trip. We were on the road (or at least away from home) for two-and-a-half months and the trip wasn’t going as well as we had hoped. However, there is more to the story than I included in my Kickapoo Free Press column.

Using the Way Back Machine, let’s go back to the summer of 2007. We had decided that Kim needed to get a job outside of my agency. Kim was working for free, which was great for the agency, but horrible for our family finances. Good paying jobs around Viroqua are few and far between (some would say “non-existent”), so she submitted her resume to State Farm. Kim worked for State Farm for 13 years as a (very good) claim representative before giving up her job to come to work in my agency in July 2006. When she didn’t hear back from State Farm after a month or two (she called and emailed, but they never responded), we came up with the bright idea of going on our road trip.

In early February, Kim received a call from State Farm out of the blue. To our surprise, Kim was offered a claim rep job without an interview. To make the deal even sweeter, they offered her more money than she was making when she quit in 2006. The only downside (if it is a downside) is that the job is located in State Farm’s office in Murfreesboro, TN. Even so, the opportunity was just too good to pass up.

So as I write this, the movers are moving our stuff into a house we rented in Lascassas, TN. Everything has happened so fast, we haven’t even had a chance to tell a lot of our friends about the move. If you are among the many that is finding out about the move through this post, please forgive us. The past three weeks (since Kim was offered the job) have been crazy. Hopefully, things will settle down now so we can let you know what is going on.

Hot Off The Presses: Column #4

2008-02-22T20:49:00.002-06:00

Here's the March column for Kickapoo Free Press:

Postcards from the Road

The End of the Road

My wife sometimes accuses me of being overly optimistic. She says that I too often focus on the positive and I don’t take into account the potential negative. I’d like to defend myself, but the truth is that she is more right than wrong. Here’s a prime example.

When we first started planning our cross-country RV adventure, I was excited about all of the places we would go and the things we would see. Best of all, I’d be able to share it all with my kids. I was convinced that the trip would be a great time and our shared experiences would become life-long memories.

What I didn’t think about when I was planning the trip was all of the things that could go wrong. I didn’t think about getting the RV stuck on the ice just three miles after leaving home. I didn’t consider the possibility of wrecking the tow dolly at our very first campground. It never entered my mind that we would hit not one, but two deer with our van while camping in Tennessee. I had no idea that the RV would be so hard to drive when the winds in Florida gusted to more than 30 miles per hour. And yet, each of these things (and more) happened during our road trip.

Our plan was to spend the Christmas and New Year’s holidays in Florida with my parents before heading up the west coast of the Sunshine State and then on through New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, and beyond. It was a good plan. The only problem was that no one wanted to follow it.

At first, we started making excuses for staying with my parents in Florida. We had to get our Van repaired, then my Mom’s birthday was coming up, then there was a concert we wanted to see. Our great cross-country adventure had turned into an extended Florida vacation.

Little by little we each started to make comments indicating that maybe our plans for the RV trip needed to be changed. When things started to go wrong, my wife Kim mentioned more than once about how a successful RV trip needs someone who is handy with tools or is wealthy. She didn’t have to mention the fact that I fell short on both accounts.

Our daughter Shelby said that she thought it was an omen that so many things had gone wrong in such a short time. She said it seemed like God was telling us to give up on the RV trip and to live like normal people.

Although our son, Lou didn’t seem to have a strong opinion one way or the other, he said that he’d like to go back to regular school. On the trip, I guess that Mom made him work too hard.

I didn’t want to give up on our trip. I wanted to go to all of those great places and see all of those great things. I wanted to build life-long memories with my family. Unfortunately, I had to confess that the trip had become a big pain.

Between the mechanical problems, the expense of having to fix wrecked parts, and all of the other mishaps we suffered through during our first few weeks on the road, the headaches of the trip outweighed the great experiences. We were building memories, but they were the kind we would just as soon forget.

The day we decided to end our great cross-country RV adventure was a sad day, at least for me. I think Kim and the kids were relieved. But for me, the RV trip represented more than just a long vacation. It was a goal I had set for myself. It was something I wanted to accomplish before I die.

At the moment, I’m not sure how I should approach our aborted adventure. Should I look at it as a dream postponed until another time or should I view it as no longer being a goal? It’s going to take a little time to get my head around that one.

No matter what I decide, I am glad that we gave it a shot. I think there is great value in trying, no matter the results. Plus, I have a lot of other goals to pursue in the meantime. In fact, I can’t wait to get started. I’m looking forward to having some great experiences. Of course, it could be that I’m just being overly optimistic.

Hot Off The Presses: Column #3

2008-02-22T20:45:00.000-06:00

I just realized that I never posted my February column for Kickapoo Free Press. Better late than never. Here it is:

Postcards from the Road

Adjusting to Life on the Road

When we were planning our cross country RV trip, I knew that life on the road would be a big adjustment for our whole family. In particular, I was interested to see how the kids would adjust. I was worried they would have trouble adapting to their new life. As it turned out, I shouldn’t have been worried.

From the time we left home, the kids have adjusted to life on the road without missing a beat. As we were heading south out of Wisconsin and through Illinois, the whole family settled into their new routine. Our twelve year-old, Shelby took over the front passenger seat, put her feet up on the dash, and started learning to play her guitar. Louis, our eight year-old son, settled into the seat behind Shelby and passed the time watching DVDs and playing video games. From the start, the kids were comfortable with their new lives.

At the end of our first day on the road when we stopped to sleep at a truck stop, the kids were excited to try out their new beds. Shelby slept on the convertible couch and Louis slept on the dinette which converted into a bed. The kids helped get their beds ready and then slept well until morning. By contrast, I tossed and turned for most of night.

At the campground in Tennessee, both kids claimed the territory where they would do their school work. They took to homeschooling like they had been doing it for years. Kim found the teaching to be a bit more work than expected at first, but enjoyed the one on one time with the kids. When their school work was finished, the kids went outside and rode their bikes around the campground as if they were back home in their own driveway.

Driving through Alabama, they resumed their positions in the RV and shared their new favorite food, Clementines, reportedly much tastier than Tangerines. While I worried about the traffic and making the next turn, the kids played games and ate snacks.

I really shouldn’t have been surprised by how well the kids adapted to life on the road. When I look back on my own childhood, I was the same way. It wasn’t until I hit my teens that I started to worry about things that never happened. In adulthood, I perfected that talent.

Author Richard Carlson made a career out of telling people not to sweat the small stuff. His message is one that adults need to hear and heed, but it’s one that is lost on most kids. Kids are blessed with an innate sense that everything is going to work out fine. They don’t need stress-relieving books and reassurance. As a parent, I sometimes wish that my kids weren’t so fearless, especially when it comes to physically risky behavior, but I also wish that I could share in their constant belief that, in the words of Bob Marley, “every little think is going to be alright.”

Comedian George Carlin added to this discussion when he said, “Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.” It’s good advice, but for most of us, it’s easier said than done. After all, what about the mortgage, and the price of health insurance, and that meeting at work, and the doctors appointment, and on and on and on. Life can be stressful and there’s so much to worry about.

One thing I have learned over the years is that being stressed is a response. We may not be able to control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond to what happens to us. So being stressed is a choice. We can choose to be stressed and worried about what happens to us (or what we think might happen), or we can choose to calmly accept things and just go with the flow.

I have to admit that although I am better at choosing my responses than I used to be, I’m still not great at it. So while I’m learning to worry less and be more fearless, I’ll watch how my kids handle the changes that come into their lives. Right now, they’re handling it by going outside to play catch in the Florida sun. This time, I think my response will be to join them.

JohnSmith in Concert

2008-02-10T10:41:00.000-06:00

JohnSmith is one of our favorite singer-songwriters. The first time we saw him perform was at a house concert in Milwaukee in front of a crowd of about 20 people. We were really impressed and ended up buying two of his CDs (Kickin' This Stone and The Four Directions). We saw him again about a year later at Folk on State in Madison along with Berkley & Hart. At that concert, we bought his newest CD, Break Me Open.

This past summer, John and his former partner, Dan Sabranek (of String Ties) played a couple of times at Ciatti’s in La Crosse. The combination of John and Dan together is great. At one of their shows last summer, we purchased John’s two earliest solo CDs, Traveler and Hole in the Clouds.

So it was a pleasant surprise to find out that John was playing a few shows in Florida while we were there. We chose to see him at Shack in the Back in Southwest Ranches (near Davie), FL, about two hours drive from our base in Port St. Lucie. The concert was well worth the drive.

Before I talk about the show, let me share a little about where the concert was held. Shack in the Back is a converted horse barn that sits behind the home of Ellen Bukstel. What a cool place to have a concert. Ellen has fixed the place up so it is comfortable and a great place for a show. There is room for a food table (there were some great desserts), a big fire pit, and plenty of seating. It was really cool.

As always, John was very good. He seemed very emotional that night in Florida, more than any other time we have seen him. John lives in Trempeleau, WI and this was the first time we have ever seen him outside of Wisconsin. Perhaps he was homesick. Whatever the reason, the emotions in his already emotional songs (like From His Window) were extra strong.

John played songs from all of his CDs, including several from his newest CD (Break Me Open). He also treated the crowd to two new songs that will be on his upcoming CD, due out sometime in 2008. I told John he needs to hurry up with the new CD so we have another one to buy.

If you don’t know anything about JohnSmith (I don’t know why there is no space between his first and last name) you can check him out at www.JohnSmithMusic.com. If you’re in to acoustic singer-songwriters, you’ll love John.

Review: Valentino's Pizza

2008-02-08T14:18:00.000-06:00

Our friends Mike and Rhonnie Guido recommended a pizza place we had never been to before. The name of the place is Valentino’s on Malabar Road in Palm Bay, FL. We were on our way back from seeing the shuttle launch in Titusville, so we swung over to pick up Rhonnie and Mike and we went to Valentino’s.

The first thing I noticed as we approached Valentino’s was the wonderful garlic smell. It smelled great. This was a good sign.

Valentino’s menu says that they serve the world’s best pizza. It also says they deliver. One of these things is true. The other isn’t.

We started our evening with that delicious smelling garlic cheese bread. It was good, but it wasn’t worthy of raving about. The smell of the bread was better than the taste. Of course, we were there for the pizza, not the garlic bread.

Valentino’s serves New York style pizza. To date, I haven’t found a New York style pizza that I really like, but I kept an open mind. We ordered two extra large pies, a Hawaiian (pineapple and ham) and one with tomatoes, basil and garlic.

The first problem was that the pizzas took nearly 40 minutes to arrive at our table. That’s far too long for thin crust pizzas. The second problem was that they gave us two large pies instead of two extra large. The third problem was that they delivered the pies to the table straight out of the oven without letting them rest. The cheese was still molten and far too hot to eat.

All of these problems were definitely a bad start. The first slice I had was from the Hawaiian. Finally, a New York style pizza with enough sauce. The crust was thin, tasty, and done just right. The ham and pineapple were also very tasty. I wish there had been slightly more ham and pineapple, but that wasn’t a big problem. Once the cheese cooled a bit, it was also very good.

The other pizza (I wish it had a name) was very good. It had tomatoes, fresh basil and garlic with an olive oil base. There was no tomato sauce. The crust was a little overdone, but not bad. The problem with the pizza was that it had onions on it. It wasn’t supposed to have onions. Rhonnie doesn’t like onions on her pizza. But it had onions just the same. In my opinion, the onions didn’t ruin the taste of the pizza. In fact, it tasted very good. But they weren’t supposed to be on the pizza.

Our waitress was apologetic for how long it took to make the pizzas. She was also apologetic for there being onions on the pizza. But all we got was an apology. No free garlic bread. No discount on our bill. Just an apology. It’s just my opinion, but I don’t think that was enough.

Anyway, if I disregard the problems, the pizza itself was actually pretty good. I would give it a 7 on a scale of 1-10. But if I also factor in the poor service, that rating would come down considerably. Rather than focus on the service, I’ll simply say that the pizza at Valentino’s was pretty good.

The Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis

2008-02-08T10:35:00.000-06:00

Our schedule has changed yet again. We’ve postponed our trip to Orlando to see Kim’s parents and to go to one of the theme parks (we still don’t know which one), but we did go up yesterday to see the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

When we used to live in Florida, there was an older condo complex that we would go to to see the launch. It was directly across the Indian River (Intracoastal Waterway) from the launch pad, so it was a great place to watch the shuttle blast-off. Of course, that was ten years ago, so I wasn’t sure if the condo complex even existed anymore, let alone if we could get in there to watch the launch.

As we drove north on U.S. 1, I was amazed at how many people had come out to see the launch. All of the parks along the river from Port St. John to Titusville were packed and cars were parked all over the place. In fact, capitalism was in full bloom along U.S. 1 as people were charging $10-$15 to park in their yards and entrepreneurs along the route were charging top dollar for t-shirts and bottled water. Shuttle launches are a cottage industry along the Space Coast of Florida.

When we saw all of the people already in place almost two hours before the scheduled launch, we decided to grab some food and then go stake out a location. Kentucky Fried Chicken was the first place we came to after making the decision, so we ducked in and grabbed a bucket of chicken for lunch. It was a good decision. The folks at KFC said we could park in their parking lot while we watched the shuttle launch.

We then walked directly across the road to a large vacant lot on the river that is owned by the city of Titusville. As it turned out, the vacant lot is right next door to the condo complex we used to go to.

As we were crossing the street to get to the vacant lot, a police officer on a motorcycle stopped us. I thought he was stopping us because we had crossed the street on a “do-not-walk” sign. However, he just wanted to give the kids a sticker with the Titusville Police Department badge logo on it. I thought that was really nice (and I was relieved not to get a ticket).

I had read earlier that the space shuttle mission STS-122 had a crew of Americans and Europeans on board. In addition to six Americans, the crew also consists of an astronaut from Germany as well as France. The mission of Atlantis is to take the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station.

About 45 minutes before the launch, a thunderstorm moved into the area northwest of Cape Canaveral. The launch sequence continued to countdown, but it was placed in a “red status,” meaning the launch would not proceed if the weather didn’t clear. Thankfully, with about 20 minutes to go, the storm moved off and the countdown continued.

At t-minus nine minutes, NASA has their last chance to hold the launch sequence (barring an emergency). I expected them to hold at nine minutes (I still thought they were going to scrub the launch), but the countdown continued and it looked like Atlantis was going to blast off.

As the countdown moved below five minutes, the anticipation started to build. I’ve attended probably 6-8 other launches (including a couple of night launches), so I didn’t think I would get too excited. I was wrong. The closer the countdown got to launch, the more my anticipation grew. The same thing was happening to the kids. The lower the countdown got, the more they talked and the more questions they asked. Shelby had attended one launch when she was really young, but she doesn’t remember it. So this was like the first launch for both kids.

At about t-minus 90 seconds, everyone around us stood up to get a better look. The sky was partly cloudy, but the ceiling was high, so we knew we’d have a good view, at least for a short time. When everyone stood up, the kids got even more excited.

Right on time, the shuttle’s engines roared to life. The bright flames lit up the Cape and reflected off the waters of the Indian River. The crowd around us oohed and aahed. Some people started to clap.

As Atlantis cleared the tower and zoomed into space, it left a plume of smoke in its wake. From the Cape, Atlantis headed north up the Eastern seaboard. We lost sight of the shuttle for just a second as it went behind a large cloud. When it re-emerged, people started clapping again. We could still see the bright flames up in the sky right up until Atlantis dropped her external fuel tanks. I was disappointed that we couldn’t see the fuel tanks as they fell toward the ocean, but I guess you can’t have everything.

As Atlantis disappeared from sight, the crowd once again began to clap. This time, I joined in. Even after seeing several shuttle launches in the past, the sight is still awe-inspiring.

The kids were equally as inspired, although they have a slightly different way of showing it. Shelby kept looking up at the sky long after the shuttle had disappeared from sight. I don’t think she wanted to miss seeing the shuttle again just in case it reappeared. Lou was standing in front of me during the launch and was holding both of my hands. When Atlantis disappeared from sight, he turned to me and said, “That was really cool.” High praise indeed.

The Week Ahead

2008-02-05T08:34:00.000-06:00

Here’s the plan for this week. Keep in mind, the plan is written in Jello, so it could change at any time.

Tomorrow, we are taking the kids on a surprise field trip. I can’t tell you yet what it is, but it should be both educational and entertaining. From there, we’ll be heading to Orlando to meet up with Kim’s parents.

On Thursday, we’ll be heading over to Cape Canaveral to see the Space Shuttle launch. Kim and I have seen a few launches during our days living in Florida. They are always fantastic, so we're all looking forward to seeing Thurday's launch.

On Friday, we’ll be going to one of the theme parks in Orlando. We haven’t decided which one yet. We were supposed to go to Universal Studios last month, but our plans changed (surprise, surprise). We’ll see what happens.

Saturday is my Mom’s 76th birthday. We’ll be coming back to Port St. Lucie to take her out to dinner and celebrate her birthday.

Next week, the RV goes into the shop. Hopefully the repairs won’t take too long or be too expensive. I know, wishful thinking…

Changng Our Change of Plans

2008-02-04T23:27:00.000-06:00

I haven’t been keeping up with the blog the way I had planned. Sorry about that. I’ll try to do better.

In case you didn’t know, our plans changed once again. We were finally forced to take our van into the body shop to repair the damage done from the deer hit in Tennessee. The blinker and the right front head light had stopped working and it was getting dangerous to drive, so we took it to the body shop.

In place of the van, we had a Toyota Camry rental car. It was smaller than the van, but at least we’d have a vehicle with a right blinker and head light for our trip north, right? Wrong. The rental car company was happy to let us take the vehicle out of state. The only proviso was that we would have to pay mileage on all of the miles we racked up outside of Florida. If we had made the trek to Viroqua, it would have cost us more than $2,000. The decision: no trip to Viroqua.

So that means that we can get back on our original schedule, right? Wrong again. Right now, we are supposed to be in Pensacola, Florida. The past few weeks we were supposed to be in the Everglades, at a state park near Sarasota and at a campground near Cedar Key. None of those things have happened. Instead, we’ve stayed at our base in Port St. Lucie. Here’s why.

First, Kim’s parents have come to Florida for a visit, so we’ll be spending some time with them up in Orlando. Also, we had planned on taking the kids to see the Space Shuttle launch on January 10. Unfortunately, the launch was delayed and is now scheduled for February 7. Rather than miss the launch, we’ve decided to stay put so we can see it.

Perhaps the most important reason we haven’t left my parents house is that the RV isn’t ready to hit the road. It is having some electrical problems, so we have to get that fixed before we can continue on with our journey.

At this point, I’ve given up on trying to stick to any sort of schedule. We’ll just have to see what happens when it happens.

Review: Pistilli's Pizza

2008-01-15T09:41:00.000-06:00

We had the chance to get together for pizza with our friends Mike and Rhonnie Guido from Palm Bay, FL. We wanted to try Pistilli’s Pizza in Indian Harbor Beach, so we all loaded up into our van and headed beach side.

Pistilli’s in located in a small strip mall on Eau Gallie Blvd, about two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean and Canova Beach Park. It’s nothing special to look at (especially considering it was dark), but I was more concerned about the pizza than the architecture. Inside, there are 10-12 booths/tables as well as a carry-out counter. We were there on a Saturday night, but the place wasn’t very busy. Not a good sign.

Pistilli’s advertises that they serve “Jersey Style Pie.” When I asked for a definition of “Jersey Style Pie” I was told that it is just like New York style, except that it’s made by people from New Jersey. You learn something new every day.

We ordered two pies. The first was a sausage and pepperoni for the guys (Mike, Louis and me), and a “Pizza Caserta” (ricotta, mozzarella, garlic, fresh tomato, spinach & artichokes) for the ladies (Rhonnie, Kim and Shelby).

The sausage and pepperoni pizza was good, but not great. The crust was a little dry and there wasn’t enough sauce. The sausage was the shaved/sliced kind we had at DaVinci’s previously, although I have to admit that it had a much better flavor. I don’t like my sausage shaved/sliced, but at least it tasted good. The pepperoni was also tasty and there was a sufficient amount on the pie.

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give Pistilli’s sausage and pepperoni a 6.

The Pizza Caserta was a different story. The ladies were gracious enough to let me try a slice of their pie and I was impressed. The ingredients on the pie were blended well so no one ingredient stood out, but all worked together to create a great taste. I’ve had similar pies at other pizzerias and it always seems like they overdo the garlic. Not so at Pistilli’s. The only downfall of the Pizza Caserta was the semi-dry crust (although not as dry as the sausage and pepperoni crust).

On a scale of 1-10, the Pizza Caserta gets a 7. So overall, the pizza at Pistilli’s gets a respectable 6.5.

The Kids Are Glowing

2008-01-14T19:36:00.000-06:00

The kids attended a special program today given just for home schoolers by Dr. Robert Krampf at the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant on Hutchison Island near Port St. Lucie, FL. The program was called The Nuts and Bolts of Lightning.

We found out about the program last week when we visited the FPL Energy Encounter exhibit at the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant. The Energy Encounter is a very interesting exhibit that explains electricity and different ways to generate power in terms that even I can understand.

Today’s program talked about interesting issues involving lightning. For instance, did you know that:

- Lightning strikes one mile away from you for every five seconds between the lightning strike and the thunder clap;

- If you are about to be struck by lightning, your hair will raise up off your head approximately one-two seconds before the lightning strike;

- If you are caught in a lightning storm, your best defense is to crouch down into a ball as close to the ground as you can with your feet together. The smaller you are and the closer to the ground you are, the less likely you will be struck by lightning. Do NOT lie on the ground;

- You should not take a shower or wash the dishes during a thunder storm because lightning can strike a home and follow pipes into the shower or sink. Also, water is an excellent conductor of electricity;

- Lightning can also follow the telephone cord. So do not use a corded telephone during a thunder storm. However, it is safe to use a cordless telephone;

- Contrary to popular belief, Benjamin Franklin did not discover electricity by being struck by lightning.

Shelby and Louis will get back to their books tomorrow, but it was a nice break for them to have a field trip today.

An Evening with Jack Williams

2008-01-11T10:45:00.000-06:00

Kim and I were lucky enough to see Jack Williams in concert last night. He was playing at the Blake Library in Stuart, FL.

In case you’re not familiar with Jack, he is a singer-songwriter who plays “acoustic music.” I guess you’d call him a folk singer (if you felt the need to label him), but he is also a storyteller, a comedian, and a traveling philosopher.

The concert was a lot of fun and Jack was great. His voice was weathered and bluesy, and his guitar playing was phenomenal.

Several years ago, I got to see Michael Jordan play basketball. Each time I would see him play I would come away wishing that I could do something, anything, in my life as well as Michael Jordan plays basketball. After seeing Jack Williams in concert, I am left with the desire to be able to do something, anything, as well as he plays guitar.

It’s a little funny that Jack is such a virtuoso on the guitar because when he walked on stage, my first thought was, “Jeez, that guitar is sure beat up.” And it’s true. Jack’s guitar has seen better days. The top of the guitar is faded and delaminated, and the pickguard is so old and worn that it is falling off the guitar. Even so, the sweet, soulful music Jack created with that old guitar was amazing.

On stage, Jack told stories, cracked jokes, and talked about his beloved south, all the while strumming and picking his guitar. The sound of the guitar was omnipresent. I got the feeling that at home, Jack sits and play his guitar while he talks to his wife Judy (who was also at the concert). It’s somewhat comical to think of Jack and Judy sitting at home in Arkansas, talking about the weather, a neighbor, the bills, or anything else while Jack provides background music for their lives. I don’t think there is ever a time when Jack isn’t playing his guitar. It must make it hard to drive and play guitar at the same time, but somehow Jack manages.

During the concert, Jack did several of his own songs (Eternity & Main, Mama Lou, A Natural Man, Frog in the Kitchen) as well as a couple of other people’s songs (Buckets of Rain by Bob Dylan), but the highlight (at least for me) was the last song he did.

Jack has a way of ending a concert that is truly unique. It is to music what stream of consciousness writing is to literature. For about twenty minutes, Jack played and sang anything that came into his head. During the course of his finale I remember hearing such diverse songs as “Young at Heart,” “Girl from Ipanema,” “Misty,” “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” “The Weight,” and several other songs, both strange and familiar. Jack also made up a couple of mini-songs during the finale.

Jack Williams is a great performer and his concert provided one of the most enjoyable evenings I have had in quite some time. If you ever get the chance to see Jack in person, I would highly recommend it.

By the way, while talking to Jack and Judy, I found out about a great place to order hard to find music CDs and DVDs (as well as Jack’s CDs and DVD). Check out www.rediscovermusic.com. I got a copy of the catalog and they have a bunch of great stuff.

Review: Anthony V's

2008-01-09T21:39:00.000-06:00

Anthony V’s in Tradition Square (Port St. Lucie, FL) cooks their pizzas in a wood-fired oven. That was what caught my eye when we decided to give their pizza a try. I hadn’t read any reviews or talked to anyone who had eaten there. It was kind of a pizza review version of a blind date.

First impressions were very good. Tradition Square is a very nice shopping plaza and Anthony V’s is a great looking pizzeria. When we got there, there were only a couple of tables available. Ultimately, we decided to eat outside. It was a beautiful night and eating outside was a good choice.

We struggled with what to order, but we were intrigued by the Buffalo chicken pizza. Our favorite pizza at Great River Roadhouse (our hometown pizzeria) is a Buffalo Pie and it is great. Our server warned us that they were really busy and it would be 30-45 minutes before our pie was ready. We ordered some garlic knots to fill the time. They were only average, but we still had high hopes for the pizza.

It took more than an hour to get our pie and I’m sad to report, it really wasn’t worth the wait. The chicken was cut into chunks, breaded, and cooked in buffalo sauce. It didn’t taste bad, but I expected the entire pie to be covered in buffalo sauce, not just the chicken. Kim said the chicken tasted like it had been purchased frozen and just heated for our pizza.

Instead of having buffalo sauce, the pizza had regular pizza sauce. It didn’t taste bad, but it didn’t belong on a Buffalo chicken pizza.

The crust is a little hard to describe. It was slightly overcooked, making it a little dry, yet it was soggy. Neither thing was good.

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give Anthony V’s pizza a 5.5. However, I also have a bit of a disclaimer. We didn’t know anything about Anthony V’s before showing up on their doorstep. My gut told me to order a more “common” pie (i.e., sausage, pepperoni, etc) in order to get a true read on their pizza. In the end, we ordered a specialty pizza and we were disappointed. I wouldn’t mind giving Anthony V’s another try. I’d like to have a good experience. I wanted to like the pizza at Anthony V’s. Maybe we’ll try again.

A Change of Plans

2008-01-09T17:55:00.000-06:00

A couple of things have happened to slightly change our plans. During the week on January 14, we were supposed to be staying at a campground in Everglades National Park. Unfortunately, the campsite we tried to reserve wasn’t available, so the campground offered us a site that did not have electric or water. In the end, we decided it would be easier to use my parents’ home in Port St. Lucie, FL as our base and to drive down south to see the things we want to see. We may still visit the Everglades, but just for the day.

During the week of January 28, Kim and I have to be in La Crosse for a meeting. We’ll probably leave from Florida on January 26 and then spend the entire next week in Viroqua. Shelby is excited because she’s going to get to see her friends (who she has been missing terribly). We’ll be driving the van back rather than the RV. It’s too cold in Viroqua to stay in the RV and it is too expensive to drive it north just for the week.

If things work out, we are going to stop to see some friends on the way back to Florida. We want to stop to see Caryl & Jerry Holthouse in Tennessee, Neil & Gail Wallace in Alabama, and Randy Pobst, and Kevin and Jackie Walsh in Georgia. When we get back to Florida, Kim’s parents will be visiting her brother Jeff in Orlando, so we may not hit the road as soon as we come back. It’s nice to not have to be on a set schedule.

Frigid Florida

2008-01-03T13:36:00.000-06:00

I know most of you aren’t going to feel sorry for us, but it is freezing in Florida. The low last night was in the 30’s with wind chills in the 20’s. West of us, the wind chill was in the teens.

From a practical standpoint, the freezing temps are really hard on Florida’s agricultural crops. Farmers are breaking out smudge pots and hiring helicopters to fly over their fields to distribute warmer air. Oranges, grapefruits, tangelos, tomatoes, and all of the vegetable crops are all suffering. I haven’t heard how much damage was done last night, but it wasn’t good.

From a personal standpoint, it’s just down right cold. Thirty degrees in Florida is much colder than thirty degrees in Wisconsin. I’m guessing that is because of the higher humidity in Florida. Whatever the reason, it’s really cold outside.

The cold is only supposed to last two days and then the weather will improve again to the normal overnight lows in the 60’s. However, until then, we get to breakout the long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, and heavy blankets.

Review: DaVinci's Pizzeria

2008-01-02T20:13:00.000-06:00

I read an Internet review about DaVinci’s Pizzeria (U.S. 1 in Port St. Lucie, FL) and had high hopes for the place. My first impression wasn’t so good. The plaza where DaVinci’s is located is a bit run down and DaVinci’s sits between a Curves and a closed down used bookstore. The obligatory pawn shop is just two doors down.

Once inside the front door (the wooden front door), everything changed. The first thing that greeted us were photos of the owner and his family dating back to his days in Italy. And best of all, the owner, Vitorio, was in the restaurant.

We started our evening with garlic knots. They were delicious, buttery and covered with plenty of garlic.

We ordered two pizzas; a sausage and mushroom for Kim and me, and a cheese pie for Shelby and Lou. Although I had high hopes, the pizza at DaVinci’s let me down. The sauce was good, but there wasn’t enough of it (a common complaint I have of New York-style pizzas). They also skimped a bit on the cheese.

The sausage was sliced (as opposed to ground or chunked). We found out that it is the same sausage that DaVinci’s uses with their sausage and peppers. In my book, that’s a no-no.

Overall, the pizza was okay, but nothing great. I’d give it a 5 on a 1-10 scale.

The Week in Review

2007-12-22T16:11:00.000-06:00

This past week has been a busy one. We’ve been Christmas shopping, working on the RV (new name still pending), going to the beach, going to see movies, and eating pizza.

My parent’s neighbor, John, has been helping us to get the refrigerator to work right. We haven’t gotten it to work yet, but we’re getting closer. We also got the toilet unplugged (a problem I didn’t share previously), and I sanded and re-painted the stairs.

The kids have been working hard on their school work this week, so we treated them with a trip to the beach. The East Coast of Florida has been experiencing red tide over the past few weeks. The worst of it is north of where we are in St. Lucie County, but when Kim and the kids visited the beach, it was littered with dead jelly fish. Last year, not knowing what it was, Louis picked up a jelly fish and was stung on both hands. He was much more careful this year.

We also went to see two movies this week. On Thursday we went to see the Golden Compass and Friday night we saw National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Kim, Louis and I liked both movies. Shelby liked National Treasure, but didn’t like Golden Compass. She’s not a big fan of fantasy movies.

We had heard that Golden Compass (rated PG-13)was not appropriate for kids, but then last weekend I read that the book had been selected as one of the best books for kids. We decided to find out for ourselves. The story was very inventive and in my opinion was good for kids, but it was pretty violent. There was a lot of killing of people and animals. I don’t have a recommendation either way.

We also found time to visit DaVinci’s Pizza in Port St. Lucie. I’ll post a review soon.

In the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas!

Review: Sir Pizza

2007-12-17T10:30:00.000-06:00

Sir Pizza is a chain of pizza restaurants in central Tennessee. They have been in business for 40 years and in 2007 received the “Ruthie Award” for best pizza restaurant in Rutherford County (TN). We visited the store on TN Hwy 231 in Murfreesboro.

The theme at Sir Pizza is medieval. Knight helmets are used as lights, family crests grace the walls, and the furniture is dark and heavy. In my opinion, it’s an unusual décor for a pizza restaurant, but no one asked me.

We visited Sir Pizza on a Tuesday night which is 2-for-1 pizza night. Erica, our waitress, explained that we could get two pizzas for the price of one. We had never run into such a deal, so we questioned her about the promotion. She advised us that we would receive one free pizza for every pizza we ordered. We ordered a medium sausage and mushroom pie, and a small cheese pie for Louis. Erica said we would receive a free medium sausage and mushroom pizza as well as a free small cheese pizza. What a deal!

We had high hopes for Sir Pizza, but I’m afraid we were let down. The crust at Sir Pizza was crisp and had a sweet taste. This was probably the best part of the pizza.

The sauce was rather blah. Kim detected a slight wine taste in the sauce, but I suspect that the taste was something else. In any case, the sauce did not have much taste.

Sir Pizza went pretty light on the cheese. The sausage was finely ground, but again, didn’t have a lot of taste. The mushrooms were cut large and there were a fair number on the pizza.

Obviously, we were disappointed in the pizza at Sir Pizza. However, the thing that made our experience even worse was the poor service. It took way too long to get our pizza. Then, when we went to pay, we were charged for the two medium pizzas and given the two small pizzas for free. Kim argued about this with the guy at the counter. He finally agreed to charge us for a medium and a small and give us a medium and a small for free. However, he never apologized and he obviously wasn’t happy with giving in.

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give the pizza at Sir Pizza a 5. However, considering the poor service, I’ll downgrade their score to 4.

Hot Off The Presses: Column #2

2007-12-15T16:30:00.000-06:00

Here's the second column I wrote about our trip. This one will be printed in the January issue of the Kickapoo Free Press.

Postcards From The Road

When Bad Things Happen To Road People

It has been said that you learn more when things go wrong than you do when they go right. If that is true, then I am now officially brilliant.

The first few weeks of our great big road trip have seen one problem after another. And the problems started just a few minutes after we left home.

In Westby, we pulled into the Ace Hardware to top off our propane tank. While pulling up the small hill into the parking lot, our motorhome got stuck on the ice. I couldn’t go forward, so I tried to back up. That was a mistake. When I backed-up, our tow dolly jack-knifed and our van (which was on the tow dolly) slammed into the corner of our motorhome. The damage wasn’t too bad, but the incident was an omen of things to come.

As we struggled to move the motorhome, the folks at Ace Hardware and Mr. Tire came to our rescue. They helped us get the van off the tow dolly and then put some sand on the ice so the motorhome could get enough traction to get up the hill.

As we were doing this, I noticed that we had run over a screw with the left front tire of the motorhome. The guys from Mr. Tire took a look at it and thankfully, the screw hadn’t penetrated too deep, so the tire wasn’t leaking air.

Before we left, Richard from Mr. Tire helped us add air to the tow dolly tires. As he was doing this, he noticed that the left wheel on the tow dolly was really loose. The nut that holds the bearing in was almost all the way off, which could have allowed the wheel to fall off the tow dolly. That would have been a mess.

I once read that it’s less important what happens to you in life than it is how you react to what happens to you. With that in mind, we decided to look at our little misadventure in Westby as a blessing rather than a curse. After all, if we hadn’t gotten stuck on the ice, we wouldn’t have found the screw in our tire and we wouldn’t have known that the wheel on the tow dolly was falling off. I guess it’s all in your perspective.

Space prohibits me from detailing all of our misadventures, but the results have been a cut hand, a sprained thumb, a scrapped leg, and a damaged tow dolly. The capper occurred on a Saturday night when we were on our way to visit with friends in Tennessee. On the way to their house, we hit not one, but two deer with our van. A buck and a doe were trying to cross the road. We hit the buck with the right front of the van and the doe ran head first into the right side of the vehicle. The deer both ran off, but our van was pretty badly damaged.

According to German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche “that which does not kill us makes us stronger.” So even though we’re feeling a bit beaten down right now, we apparently are growing stronger with each mishap. I guess that’s one silver lining that is coming from all of the clouds of bad luck.

Fortunately, the bad luck hasn’t stopped us from seeing some great sights. During our first few weeks we’ve visited the Stones River National Battlefield, seen the unbelievable Christmas decorations at the Opryland Resort, and we attended a fantastic concert by Nashville native Jonell Mosser. We’ve also had the opportunity to visit with friends and family.

I’m a big believer in karma. With all of the mishaps we had during the first few weeks of our trip, I’ve got to believe that we are due for some very good karma the rest of the way.

Hot Off the Presses: Column #1

2007-12-15T16:24:00.000-06:00

In addition to recording our travels here on this blog, I am writing a monthly column in the Kickapoo Free Press, a monthly newspaper/magazine distributed in Southwest Wisconsin. Here is the first column that was printed in the December issue of the paper. In my next post, I'll include the January Column.

Postcards from the Road

Realizing A Lifelong Dream

In 1942, at the age of just 15-years old, California teen John Goddard sat down and wrote out a list of 127 adventures he wanted to achieve during his lifetime. He dubbed the list, “My Life List.” The list of adventures included things like explore the Nile River, study primitive culture in New Guinea, and climb Mt. Everest.

I read about Goddard in 1998 and his story prompted me to make up a life list of my own. By Goddard’s standards, my list included some rather tame adventures. But more important than the intensity or difficulty of the adventures was the fact that I had actually put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and had created my very own “Goddard List.”

One of the 38 adventure goals I set for myself was to someday take my family on an extended cross-country trip in an RV. At the time, I had a three-year old daughter and there didn’t seem to be any rush in realizing my RV dream. There was plenty of time to achieve this cross-country adventure.

Since that time, I’ve had a fairly busy life. We’ve moved five times, had another child, started a business, and I’ve battled cancer. Up until now, I’ve had plenty of excuses not to buy an RV and hit the road. In fact, it’s always easier not to do something than to commit to doing it. If you really want to, you can always find a reason not to do something. Excuses are easy to come by, but making a commitment regardless of the available excuses is a lot harder to do.

Now, nine years after making my Goddard List, with my RV adventure so far unfulfilled, it’s time to make a decision. Either we are going to take the plunge and realize our dream (it became “our” dream a few years ago), or my Goddard List is just going to become a collection of someday wishes. I’ll either be a “doer” in life who makes things happen, or a dreamer who let’s things happen.

In making the decision of whether or not to go on this cross-country trip, there are a lot of things to consider. How will our business fare with both Kim (my wife) and I gone? How will we educate our kids? Do we have the budget to stay out on the road long-term? How will we get our mail? Where will go?

We’ve thought a lot about it. We’ve considered all of the issues and we’ve finally made a decision. We’ve decided to take the plunge. We’ve decided that we would rather take the risk and make the most of the experience than live with the regret of never trying. We’ve made the commitment and we’ve decided that now is the right time to live the adventure.

By the time you read this, assuming everything goes according to plan, we will be living on the road. The plan is to take off on or around Thanksgiving and not come back to Viroqua until June of 2008. I’ll be writing a monthly column chronicling our travels and I hope you’ll follow along. It should be a great ride.

Seeking Refuge in Florida

2007-12-14T20:19:00.000-06:00

It’s Friday night and Shelby and I are sitting in Panera’s in Jensen Beach, Florida. It’s not exciting, but it’s good to be in the warmth of Florida. It’s also good to be visiting with my parents for a while.

On our way to Florida, we decided to skip our trips to Birmingham, AL and Atlanta in favor of seeking the shelter of Mom and Dad’s house. We’re kind of like young birds out for our first flight. It’s good to be out on our own, but it sure is nice to know when there is trouble, we can fly back to the safety of our nest. The only difference is we aren’t young anymore (and we don’t eat worms). Even so, it sure is nice to have Mom and Dad’s place to use as a port in a storm.

I spoke to my friend Neil Wallace today. We were supposed to stop in Birmingham to see Neil and his wife Gail. As it turns out, Neil is in Chattanooga right now refereeing the Division I-AA national football championship between Appalachian State and Delaware State. It’s an honor to be picked to ref such a high profile game. Congratulations, Neil. You must be doing a good job. Of course, that’s no surprise. You always do.

Tomorrow we will be visiting my sister and her family in Wellington (near West Palm Beach). The weather is supposed to cool off tomorrow (down into the 60’s), so the kids are kind of bummed that they won’t be able to swim. I know all of our friends back in Wisconsin feel REALLY bad for us. They are dealing with a foot-and-a-half of snow on the ground, high winds, and temps in the single digits. I guess temps in the 60’s here in Florida aren’t so bad (although I’ll probably have to trade in the shorts for jeans – boo hoo…).

What's In A Name?

2007-12-11T16:15:00.000-06:00

Early on, we started referring to the RV as The Big Rolling Turd in honor of the motorhome in the movie RV. It was a funny name and it seemed especially appropriate considering the poor condition of the RV’s interior.

Since then, we’ve had the interior of the RV steam cleaned and put in new carpet and laminate flooring. The interior has also been cleaned from top to bottom. It’s not brand new, but the RV looks (and smells) a heck of a lot better than it did when we bought it.

Our friend Caryl Holthouse suggested that maybe we have been having so much bad luck because of the negative name we had given to the RV. It makes sense. Think negative thoughts, get negative results. Think positive thoughts, get positive results.

With that in mind, we have stopped calling the RV The Big Rolling Turd. We are currently looking for a new name. My suggestion was “Kerouac,” in honor of Jack Kerouac, the author of the great book, On The Road. However, I couldn’t get any agreement from my family. Kim said the name gives her the creeps and Shelby said Kerouac sounds like a drug. Louis thought it was a monster, as in “Run away from the Kerouac.”

So I’m not going to get my way with the new name, but my unenlightened and overly-critical family can’t come up with a new name of their own. That’s where you come in. We are inviting all of our loyal readers (both of you) to chime in on a new name for our RV. If we like the name you come up with and we decide to use it, we’ll probably claim that we came up with the name ourselves, but at least you’ll know that you were involved.

Let us know what you think we should call the RV. Remember, we want positive results, so the name you suggest should be positive.

Good luck, and as always, please, no wagering.

Stones River National Battlefield

2007-12-10T19:23:00.000-06:00

We’re all sitting in a Panera Bread catching up on email and visiting via IM. We went to Stones River National Battlefield today. The Battle of Stones River started on December 31, 1861 and lasted three days. When it was all over, nearly 24,000 people were dead (more than 13,000 Union soldiers and more than 11,000 Confederate soldiers). Many of the Union soldiers killed at Stones River are buried at the Stones River National Cemetery.

The National Battlefield includes a driving tour to significant spots not only in the park, but around Murfreesboro. We took a few pictures, but when you think about what happened in this place, it makes the mood kind of somber. It didn’t feel right to run around the park taking pictures.

We’re supposed to receive the new swivel pan for the tow dolly tomorrow. If we do, the plan is to leave on Wednesday and head down to my parents in Florida. The first week of our trip hasn’t exactly turned out the way we had hoped, and it has been much more expensive than we expected, but I can feel that things are starting to turn around for us. I expect things to get better from here on out.

Today Was a Good Day

2007-12-09T21:22:00.000-06:00

Today turned out to be a pretty good day. After a rainy morning, the skies cleared up and the temperature got up into the 70’s; unheard of for Middle Tennessee. In the afternoon, Jerry, Caryl, and the kids came over to see our new home. They hadn’t planned on staying long, but we ended up starting a fire and cooking hot dogs and s’mores for everyone, and we all made a night of it. It was great fun.

Tomorrow, I think we are finally going to make it over to the stones River National Battlefield. The weather hasn’t been cooperating up until now, but we should have some decent weather tomorrow.

By the way, today was my 48th birthday. It’s hard for me to believe I am that old. I still feel like a teenager (except for the occasional ache or pain). Sitting around a fire visiting with family and friends was a great way to spend my birthday.

Stupid Deer

2007-12-09T11:13:00.000-06:00

This really is getting ridiculous.

Yesterday was a lazy day. Because we had gotten in so late on Friday night, we all slept in on Saturday morning. It was raining, so there wasn’t a lot we could do outside. That was too bad because there was a World War II re-enactment at the park. However, the weather was so bad that the re-enactors shut down the re-enactment early and went home.

Because it was so rainy, we decided to just hang out at the RV. Kim ended up doing more laundry, Louis watched Star Wars (again), and Shelby and I each ended up taking a nap. When I woke up around 4:30, I thought to myself, “Maybe we’re going to get through today without anything bad happening.” I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The Holthouses invited us over to watch a movie with them. The plan was to stop and get something to eat, and then go to the Holthouses. We were on our way into Murfreesboro when suddenly a deer ran out in front of us. Right before we hit it, I could see that it was a young buck. What I didn’t see was that there was a doe right behind the buck.

I swerved as much as I could without going into oncoming traffic, but it wasn’t enough. We hit the buck with the right front of the van. The deer flipped up into the air, did a somersault, and landed in the ditch. I was sure we had killed it, but the buck jumped up and ran off into the woods.

Meanwhile, while we were hitting the buck, the doe ran headfirst into the front passenger side door of the van. She seemed to be fine and we saw her standing up on a hill a few minutes after the accident.

The kids both got really upset and started crying. I thought they may have gotten hurt, but they were just upset that we had hit a deer. Within a few minutes they had stopped crying and wanted to go look for the deer.

The Rutherford County Sherriff’s Department came out to take a report, but naturally we had just crossed into the Murfreesboro city limits, so we had to wait for a Murfreesboro police officer. The County Deputy and the Murfreesboro police officer were both very nice and very helpful.

Thankfully, the van is still driveable, although the right front light is broken, the right fender is damaged, as is the hood and passenger side doors. I think we are probably going to have to skip staying in Alabama and Atlanta so we can get down to Florida to have the van repaired. Of course, we can’t leave until we get the parts we need to repair the tow dolly first.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Uff da…

Jonell Mosser in Concert

2007-12-08T03:10:00.000-06:00

Tonight we went over to visit with our friends Caryl & Jerry Holthouse. They treated us to pizza (Thank you, Jerry & Caryl) and then we went to see Jonell Mosser play at Third and Lindsley in Nashville. Wow, what a show.

I think Jonell Mosser is built differently than the rest of us. With Jonell, her vocal chords are attached directly to her soul. What a voice. She is a cross between Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt, with a pinch of an Eric Clapton blues riff thrown in for good measure. Her dance moves reminds you a little of Joe Cocker, but you don’t go to see Jonell for her dancing. You go to hear her awesome voice.

Jonell’s band did a great job. Led by the legendary Reese Wynans on Hammond B3 and keyboards, the band was a great compliment to Jonell’s strong voice and stage presence. Wynans sits behind his B3 looking like a professor, but playing like a demon.

The highlight of the show was when renowned songwriter Gary Nicholson joined the band for Jonell’s version of Nicholson’s song, The Trouble with the Truth. Then Nicholson launched into his rocking song, Jacksboro Highway, complete with solos from Nicholson and Wynan, and a segue into the song, Fever. It was fantastic.

Another highlight of the show was when an audience member demanded a Christmas song and Jonell and the band did a great version of Silver Bells. Without a doubt, it was the best version of Silver Bells I’ve ever heard.

During the show, I was sitting next to a guy that was about 6’5” with his hair died magenta. As it turned out, it was Billy Prine and he joined Jonell for Angel From Montgomery, a song written by Billy’s brother John Prine.

It was a great night. We didn’t get back to the RV until about 2:30 am, but I could have stayed and listened all night. It must be cool to live in the Nashville area and have access to great live music like this every night of the week.

By the way, I haven’t said anything about it here before, but Jerry Holthouse is a songwriter. He wrote the song They Also Serve which was recorded by John Conley and was popular a few years ago.

I was talking to Jerry about the songwriting business and was surprised about how competitive the business is. Nashville is full of songwriters just waiting for that one big hit. Jerry is a graphic designer by day, but in his heart of hearts, he is a songwriter. Remember Jerry, nickel a fish!

If It Weren't For Bad Luck. . .

2007-12-07T17:41:00.000-06:00

While Kim and the kids stayed at the park this morning, I ventured off to find a wi-fi connection that would work. I was able to log on and get all of my emails, so mission accomplished. Unfortunately, things went downhill from there.

After I got back to the park and had lunch, I was walking across the campground, slipped on a landscape timber, and went face first into the ground. My left hand went into the gravel and my right hand went into a fire pit. My right leg also hit the fire pit. What a klutz.

I came back to the RV so Kim could tend to me (I’m a big baby when I’m sick or hurt). After washing away the dirt, gravel, and soot, all that was left was a small cut on my right hand and scrape on my right thigh. I also think I sprained my right thumb.

Later in the afternoon I was walking across the same area where I fell when I stepped in a big pile of dog poop. I didn’t realize that I had stepped in it, so I tracked it into the RV. Thankfully, the clean-up wasn’t too involved.

After my latest mishap, Kim said, in her best southern accent, “If it weren’t for bad luck, you wouldn’t have no luck at all.” So true.

P.S. -- Happy Birthday, Rhonnie!

Our Wi-Fi Nightmare Is Over

2007-12-07T12:00:00.000-06:00

Hallelujah! I’m logged on to the Internet.

It took some work, but I’m finally logged on to a wi-fi system. Let’s hope I don’t have any more problems with this on the trip (wishful thinking).

We didn’t get as much done yesterday as I had hoped. Our electrical problems took up some of my time and then we had a small plumbing problem. As a result, we didn’t get over to Stones River Civil War Battlefield. I’m not sure we’re going to go today either because it is raining.

We ended up going to Opry Mills yesterday. It is basically a big mall, but with some stores and attractions you don’t find in other malls. For instance, our first stop was at the Gibson Showcase. It is part of the Gibson Guitar Company. They do the finally assembly of banjos at this facility. They also sell guitars and have a live music club in the store. Very cool.

We also went to Bass Pro Shop. All I needed was a pair of shoe laces, but it was fun looking at all of the other stuff too.

Afterwards, we walked over to the Opryland Resort & Convention Center to see the Christmas decorations. Unbelievable. I can’t imagine the kind of money they spend to decorate. Shelby said, “Dad, I don’t want to make too big of a deal out of this, but I am totally blown away.” It was that good.

With any luck, Kim and I are going to meet up with Jerry and Caryl Holthaus tonight to go see Jonell Mosser at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville. Mosser is supposed to be great in concert, so I’m excited to see her. The kids will be staying at the Holthaus’ with a babysitter, and they get to watch TV and play video games, something they’ve missed horribly this week. Unfortunately, Caryl has been sick, so our plans are still up in the air.

Trip Into Nashville

2007-12-05T22:32:00.000-06:00

Not much to report from today. It seemed to take us forever to get ready this morning. We still don’t have water in the RV, so we had to take showers in the park’s bath house. The bath house is nice and clean, but it’s not as nice as being able to use your own shower.

The kids enjoyed riding their bikes around the campsite. I’m glad we decided to bring their bikes. I can already tell that they are going to get a lot of use out of them.

We drove into Nashville to shop at the Camping World store. It was the first one we had been in and we were surprised that it wasn’t bigger. We bought a hose (for drinking water) and an ax. There was plenty of other stuff there that we wanted, but all in due time.

For lunch, we went to a place called Caney Fork Fish Camp right across from the Opryland Hotel. It’s a pretty cool place that is decorated to look like a rustic, Southern fish camp complete with a catfish pond right in the restaurant. The food was really good. I’d definitely recommend this place.

Kim did three loads of laundry this afternoon. We were without a washer and dryer for about two weeks before we left home, so the dirty clothes have been piling up. A few loads each day and we’ll soon be back at full force in the clean clothes department.

We drove into Murfreesboro tonight with the intention of catching up on emails. We just had to find a place that offered wi-fi. Our first stop was Blue Coast Burrito for dinner. Another good choice. The burritos were tasty and the different salsas they offered were really good. I especially liked their white cheese queso.

After dinner, we stopped at Books-A-Million to take advantage of their wi-fi. However, wi-fi is only free if you are part of their Millionaire’s Club. Too many places offer free wi-fi, no strings attached, so we decided not to patronize Books-A-Million.

Next we stopped at Hastings, a really cool bookstore in Murfreesboro. We checked to make sure it was okay to use their wi-fi and they were more than happy to have us. Unfortunately, Kim and I couldn’t get logged on because of the ridiculous security on our laptops. I haven’t been able to get email for three days now, so I’m going to have to find a place tomorrow where I can log on (and upload all of my very important blog posts).

After the kids do their school work tomorrow, we are planning on visiting the Stones River Civil War Battlefield and Cemetery. That should be interesting. Tomorrow night we’re going to head into Nashville again to see the Christmas decorations at the Opryland Hotel. They’re supposed to be awesome.

If At First You Don't Succeed. . .

2007-12-04T23:29:00.000-06:00

No false start this time. We hit the road, drove past the Ace Hardware without incident, and we were on our way. Just for safety’s sake, we stopped in Sparta to check the tow dolly and again in Mauston. Everything looked good.

Our trip out of Wisconsin and into Illinois was uneventful. We used more gas than I anticipated and it took longer to get places that we are used to, but the first day of our trip (discounting all of the disasters on our first attempt to leave town) went pretty well. We made it as far as Effingham, IL before we pulled over at a Pilot Truck Stop to sleep for the night.

We were up early on Tuesday and back on the road. We got into the Nashville area around 2:30 pm when we hit a big traffic jam on I-24. A semi had gone off the road and the police had two lanes on I-24 closed. Once we got past the accident scene we turned north on TN 231 through Murfreesboro and up to Lebanon.

The second day of our big adventure was going great until we pulled into the campground at Cedars of Lebanon State Park. The turn into the campground is a bit tight and the tow dolly didn’t like it one bit. The swivel pan that the front wheels of the van sit on swiveled as far as it could, but it wasn’t far enough. The pan twisted and torqued. We got the van off the tow dolly, but the swivel pan will never be used again. That was a $370 mistake. Ouch!

Tow Master (the maker of the tow dolly) is shipping out another swivel pan, but it won’t be here at least until Monday or Tuesday. It should be easy to install (knock on wood), but we are stuck here in Tennessee until we get it. Of course, there are worse places to be stuck. I had just hoped that we’d be able to get to Birmingham, AL to meet up with Neil and Gail Wallace this weekend. We’re supposed to be in Atlanta to see a couple of different people next week. For now, we’ll have to play it by ear.

D(eparture)-Day

2007-12-03T13:25:00.000-06:00

D-Day came at 10:30 am on Monday, December 10. Unfortunately, it was short-lived.

As we pulled out of our driveway, my first concern was our icy road. Although it had been plowed, they hadn’t spread any sand and I was afraid we wouldn’t even be able to make it from our road to the highway. Fortunately, we made it with no trouble.

Our first stop was Ace Hardware in Westby to get propane. As we pulled into the drive, the Big Rolling Turd got stuck on the ice. I tried to pull up the hill to the propane tank, but the Turd wouldn’t budge.

I tried to back up, but the tow dolly doesn’t like to back up. In fact, the owner’s manual for the tow dolly says NEVER back up with the tow dolly attached, but I had to give it a try anyway. The tow dolly jack knifed and the front of our van (which was on the tow dolly) smashed into the right rear corner of the RV. The RV got scuffed up a little bit and the front license plate was ripped off the van. Otherwise, not too bad.

As we waited for the folks at Ace to put down some potash to give up traction to get up the hill, I noticed that the tires on the tow dolly were horribly under-inflated. When I towed the tow dolly empty after buying it, this made sense, but then I forgot to fill the tires after I got it home. Oops…

As I was walking back to the front of the RV, I noticed a screw embedded in the left front tire. D’oh! How many things could go wrong at one time? Thankfully, the Ace Hardware store has a tire store connected to it, so they took a look at the tire. As it turned out, the screw was short and hadn’t penetrated all the way into the tire.

As we were putting air into the tires on the tow dolly, Rich, the guy at the tire shop, noticed that the left tire on the tow dolly was really loose. The bearing cap was missing and the nut that holds the bearing in was almost falling off. He checked it over and it appeared that whoever greased the bearing (before I bought it) hadn’t tightened the nut. Rich tightened it and said he thought we would be alright. Even so, he suggested that we get a “bearing buddy” (cap over the bearing) before we hit the road. So it was back to Viroqua to the auto parts store.

We just had to laugh that we had only gotten three miles from our home and so many things had already gone wrong. And after about three hours, we were back in Viroqua getting ready once again to leave.

Of course, there is another way to look at this. If we hadn’t gotten stuck on the ice at Ace, we would have never known that the tires on the tow dolly were so under-inflated and we wouldn’t have known that the wheel was falling off the right side of the tow dolly. We also may have pushed the screw in deeper to where it did penetrate the tire. Overall, things worked out pretty well. I guess it’s all in your perspective.

Rather than jumping right back on the road, we’re going to get some lunch at Subway. Hopefully, we’ll make it more than three miles from home this time.

Thank You, Roger!

2007-12-03T07:37:00.000-06:00

Roger Lucey has been a great help to us as we’ve prepared for our big adventure. He’s counseled us on motorhomes, helped us move furniture (especially the heavy stuff), helped us load the RV, and last night he laid on the ground under the RV in 15-20 degree temperatures to hook up a new outlet so we would have lights on the tow dolly.

And it’s not like Roger doesn’t have anything else to do. He has a farm and works two jobs (one for us at the agency), not to mention he has a wife (Tara) and two kids (Alyssa and Landon). Roger’s plate was already full, but he found time to help us.

Thanks, Roger. We couldn’t have pulled this off without your help.

Trapped!

2007-12-02T17:18:00.000-06:00

We’ve been trapped in our empty house for about 31 hours now. Last night the kids stayed at the neighbor’s house. It was a good thing because there is nowhere here to sit and there is nothing to do. Like most kids, they have to be entertained constantly, so they wouldn’t have liked it here last night.

Kim and I had a relaxing night last night. Even so, I sure could use a chair. We have one mattress left in the house that will be our mattress in the RV. Thankfully, we hadn’t moved it into the RV, so at least we have a place to sleep.

The snow plow came by early this morning to clear our street. Then the guy from C&C Landscaping showed up around noon to clear the drive. We were finally able to leave the house. I wanted to drive over to La Crosse just to kill some time, but Kim said “no.” The roads are still too slick. At least she was able to get up to the store to get us food for tonight.

Our plan for the outlet on the RV now is to re-wire a 6 pole large outlet in place of the current outlet. Then we’ll be able to plug the tow dolly directly into the RV with no adapter. This task is a little beyond my ability, but Roger says he can do it. Unfortunately, he has been tied up all day today trying to get his tractor started and then moving some hay bales. It’s dark now and I don’t know if he still plans on installing the outlet tonight or in the morning.

In a way, I guess it doesn’t really matter. I sometimes forget that we have lots of time. We’re not on a tight schedule and we don’t have to leave at a certain time.

Tonight, Kim is making chicken, a couple of turkey legs, mashed potatoes and gravy. I had suggested frozen pizza, but I guess her plan will work too.

Tomorrow should be our big day. I’m still excited, but my excitement is now tempered with the knowledge of everything that can and has gone wrong to delay the start of our trip. Rather than being hellbent to get started, I’m now focused more on just having a safe, wonderful trip. That’s what I’ll be praying for tonight.

Two More Days of Delays

2007-12-01T21:42:00.000-06:00

Friday, November 30

6:15 am (12 degrees) – This is going to be the day we finally hit the road. We have a few errands to run and we still have some stuff to load into the RV. We also keep finding more and more stuff that has to go into storage. If we hustle, I hope to be on the road by noon.

8:30 am (12 degrees) – We really need to get moving because a big snow and ice storm is predicted for tomorrow. It would sure be nice to get on the road before the weather gets bad. If we can get far enough south, we may be able to miss it completely.

10:00 (13 degrees) – I dropped off four bags of clothes at Doc Jacobs office. He collects clothes for the migrant farm workers in the area. I then went to the office to do payroll and pay some bills. I also had to pickup up the checks and all of the paperwork from the office that I’ll need for the trip. I then went over to the post office to pick up the mail from our P.O. box. When I came back to the office, Kim was there. She’s still working on getting our long distance phone service switched over. It seems like the phone company would make this easier. While I was at the office, I ended up reconciling one of our bank accounts. This wasn’t planned and I didn’t get out of the office until 12:30 pm. At this point, I’m hoping we can hit the road by 3:00 pm.

2:15 pm (15 degrees) – I picked up a couple of things from NAPA. I needed an adapter so we can plug the tow dolly into the RV (for brake lights, turn signals, etc) and I had to get some Sta-Bil to add to the gas we are leaving in the lawn tractor, snow blower, etc. I also decided to get the oil changed in the Envoy. It was stupid waiting this long, but it would be even dumber to not get it done now. It will give me some peace of mind knowing that I’m handing the Envoy over to Roger with a fresh oil change. Things are taking much longer than I anticipated. When I got home, I cancelled our phone service at the house. At least that was easy. I was also greeted with a couple of loads of stuff that needs to be taken to the office. We’re not going to get out of town by 3:00 pm, but I guess it’s not that big of a deal. Even if we leave late tonight, we’ll still get down to Southern Illinois or Kentucky before the storm hits. It’s supposed to be a big one, dropping snow and ice as far south as Champaign, IL.

4:30 pm (15 degrees) – Shelby and I dropped off two loads at the office. When I got home, Kim and I decided that we were trying to pack why too much into the RV. We started thinning things out and now we have a couple of more loads to put into storage. Even though it is going to take more time to take the stuff over to the office, it will be good not having so much weight (and stuff we don’t need) in the RV. It’s already dark outside. I really don’t like this time of year. It will be good to head south into better weather and longer days.

6:00 pm (12 degrees) – I tried to start the RV, but the battery was dead. I hooked up the battery charger and am letting it charge for a while. I hope the only problem is the battery and not something else.

7:00 pm (10 degrees) – We’ve been loading things into the RV for the past couple of hours. The RV is filling up, but it doesn’t seem like the house is really getting any more empty. The cold outside is raw. It’s cold enough and windy enough to freeze you to the bone. As long as you keep moving it’s not horrible, but if you stop you’ll freeze. I just hooked the tow dolly up to the RV and I stood in one place for too long. Now I’m frozen. We decide to order a couple of pizzas. Shelby and I are going to take another load to the office while we’re waiting.

7:30 pm (10 degrees) – The RV started. A switch on the interior was left on and it killed the battery. The battery is now charged and the RV is running. We may get out of here yet tonight.

8:00 pm (8 degrees) – The pizza got here and a few minutes later Roger showed up. He wants to help load the van onto the tow dolly. When he sees the adapter I got to hook up the brake lights, he announces that it is not the right one. I realized this also when I was hooking up the tow dolly. Without brake lights, Kim doesn’t want to leave. I would rather leave now without brake lights than wait to drive in the snow tomorrow. We go back and forth. Kim wins. We’re going to wait to leave until tomorrow morning. Roger and I get the van on the tow dolly without incident. The straps fit over the tires. Hallelujah! We weren’t sure that they would.

9:00 pm (7 degrees) – Roger just called. He lost his cell phone while we were loading the van onto the tow dolly. Shelby, Louis and I look all over for it, but can’t find it.

9:30 pm (7 degrees) – The battery in the Envoy just went dead. What a night. I hook up the battery charger and let it charge for a while. After a few minutes on the charger, the Envoy starts up. Sometimes you just have to laugh when things go so wrong.

10:15 pm (5 degrees) – Shelby and I just dropped off the last of our things that are going into storage. It’s time for everybody to get in bed so we can get up early and beat the storm out of town.

Saturday, December 1

6:00 am (16 degrees) – We’re up and moving some things into the RV. I have to go get the right adapter as soon as the stores open. The rush to get out of town is exciting, but also exhausting. I just want to get on the road. The snow is supposed to start around 9:00 am.

8:30 am (16 degrees) – I’ve tried NAPA and the Agri-Center, but neither place has the adapter I need. When I go over to Tractor Supply, Roger is already there and he informs me that they do not have the right adapter either. However, he has figured out a way to make this work. He’s found some magnetic lights that mount on top of the van. An electrical wire runs from the lights to the plug in the RV and act as the brake lights, tail lights, and blinkers. He’s also found an adapter that will allow us to plug the lights into the RV. Time is growing very short. The storm is on its way. By the way, Roger found his cell phone in his own driveway.

8:45 am (17 degrees) – The lights sit perfectly on top of the van, the wire is long enough to reach the outlet on the RV, but the adapter is the wrong one. I have to run back up to tractor supply to get the right one.

9:00 am (19 degrees) – Tractor Supply doesn’t have the right adapter. It’s starting to snow and it’s not playing around. The snow is mixed with ice pellets and it is coming down heavy. The roads are already slick. We’re not going to get out of town today. Tomorrow isn’t supposed to be much better. Maybe Monday will be our lucky day.

9:30 am (19 degrees) – I’m back home and Kim has moved the last of our things into the RV. She agrees that we should not leave today, but we don’t have anything in the house. We’ll have to move blankets, food, clothes, toiletries, etc. back into the house.

7:00 pm (15 degrees) – The kids have been invited to spend the night with their friends next door. That’s good because they would definitely be bored here in our empty house. We don’t have much food, but Kim whips up a pasta dish that satisfies our hunger. We eat it in our empty living room in front of the fireplace. There’s nothing left to do now but wait for Monday.

We Did It!

2007-11-29T23:58:00.000-06:00

It’s hard to believe, but we finally have everything moved out of the house and into storage. The process just seemed to go on and on, but it is finally over.

We hauled four more loads (truck and trailer full) to the office and two to Roger’s. Once again, the day was exhausting, but it feels so good to finally be finished. The only things left in the house are the things we will be taking with us on this crazy trip.

Tomorrow, I have several errands to run before we can head out of town. Kim will finish loading our clothes into the RV and when I get back home, I’ll load the last of our stuff into the storage area under the beast. It’s hard to believe, but we’re actually going to be hitting the road tomorrow (barring any unforeseen emergency).

* * * * * * * * * *

It started to snow around 8:30 or 9:00 tonight. At first it was a light dusting, but then it started to get a little more serious. Even though it started to snow more heavily, there was very little wind, so the snow just floated to the ground. It was beautiful.

I don’t have anything against snow. In fact, I like it. The problem I have is with the cold. Unfortunately, the two usually go hand-in-hand. If it would snow when it was 50 or 60 degrees outside, it would be great.

After we had moved the last item into storage and had locked the door, Kim and I stopped for a second and just watched it snow. By that time there was about an inch-and-a-half of the white stuff on the ground. The light behind my office made it just bright enough to enjoy the snowfall without ruining the view. It was very peaceful. At that point, I knew that we were just several hours away from heading south, away from the snow. It felt like the snow was a going away present just for us.

* * * * * * * * * *

Kim and I worked together to move the last four loads of the day. It was nice to spend some time alone with Kim, even if we were moving a bunch of stuff through the snow.

I’ve always been amazed at Kim’s work ethic. We may clash some times over her methods or the way she prioritizes, but I can’t argue with her efforts. She is a hard worker.

Several years ago, before we had kids, I used to race cars. Kim and I would take off for the weekend and go to places like Daytona or Sebring or Road Atlanta. Although racing was a ton of fun, it was also a lot of work.

People were amazed at all of the things Kim would do. She’d change tires, help me bleed the brakes, and work in the pits. She was a real trooper. She looked like a model, but worked like one of the boys. She was, and is, a good looking, hard working woman. (Note to Jerry Holthouse – That last line sounds like it could be a hit. Please include my name on the song credits).

We're Not Done Yet

2007-11-28T19:36:00.000-06:00

The day dawned gray and windy. At least it was a little warmer today than it was yesterday, but it still wasn’t very nice. Even so, we had to head out early to get the rest of our stuff moved into storage.

Shelby and I made four trips to the office, three of those with a rented U-Haul trailer. We also made two trips to Roger’s to drop of the lawn tractor, lawn mower, snow blower, and the yard cart. Even so, we still have more stuff to move.

Tomorrow was supposed to be loose ends day. In fact, I had hoped we could tie up all of the loose ends by noon and then hit the road in the afternoon. But now it is going to end up a moving more stuff and loose ends day. And that means we won’t be leaving until Friday.

If I was uptight and wanted to stick to a schedule, then this might bother me. But since I’m a relaxed, easy-going guy just taking life as it comes, then I’m not bothered in the least.

Yeah, right. . .

Review: Davis Bros. Pizza

2007-11-28T07:08:00.000-06:00

The pizza at Davis Bros. Pizza in East Peoria, IL is the oddest pizza I’ve ever had. That doesn’t mean that it’s not good. It is, but I’ve never had anything like it before.

Before I talk about the pizza, let me talk about the reputation Davis Bros. has developed over the years. The pizzeria started as a hole-in-the-wall bar in downtown East Peoria in 1948. They developed a unique pizza recipe that became their calling card.

Former East Peoria resident Kathy Trojack tells of an urban legend that was circulating when she was in high school that claimed that Davis Bros. used dog food on their pizzas. Like most urban legends, the claim is probably not true, but Kathy says the one thing she is sure about is that the original location for Davis Bros. was disgusting. Because of that, Kathy won’t eat there.

Davis Bros. new location isn’t fancy, but it is large and clean. The restaurant was pretty busy the night we were there, which may explain the spotty service. I think the problem was too many customers and too few waitresses. The waitresses that were there were just spread too thin.

Little Lou, Kim and I shared a sausage pizza with extra cheese. The menu at Davis Bros. is very confusing, at least for me. Since the sausage pizza doesn’t come with sauce (which I’ve never heard of before), we technically ordered a deluxe with no onions or green peppers. Thankfully, our waitress knew what we wanted, so we ended up with what we wanted rather than what we ordered.

As I said, the pizza at Davis Bros. is different. The crust is super thin, but not really crunchy like a New York-style cracker thin crust.

It’s hard to describe the sauce because Davis Bros. uses so little of it on their pizzas. This makes for a very dry pizza.

The sausage on our pie was very finely ground and there was an entire layer of it on our pie. The sausage had a good taste and gave the pie the majority of its flavor. The pizza was topped with two different types of cheese, mozzarella and American (or cheddar), I think. Even though there were two types of cheese, there wasn’t as much as I would expect considering that we ordered extra cheese.

Kim makes a good point about Davis Bros. Pizza. She says they make the kind of pizza you would make at home if you really didn’t know how to make pizza. Yet, they’ve built a business on their pizza that has lasted nearly six decades. Whether or not you like the pizza at Davis Bros. Pizza, it’s hard to argue with their success.

Overall, Davis Bros. Pizza is good, but not exceptional. It definitely is unique. Because of that, I really can’t give it a rating. It’s like trying to rate a dessert pizza with the same scale as a regular pizza pie. It’s pizza, but not really.

We're Getting Close

2007-11-27T20:00:00.000-06:00

We made some progress today on packing the garage and moving stuff to the office. Shelby was a big help with packing the truck and carrying things into storage. There’s still plenty to do, but at least we’re moving in the right direction. When I'm done writing this post, I'll be heading back outside into the 19 degree temperatures to load the truck up for another load.

Kim is almost done cleaning the RV. It was unbelievably dirty and she refuses to start moving things into it until it is clean. She should be done with it tonight so we can start moving things in tomorrow.

We’re moving more stuff tomorrow and it looks like it is going to be a very full day. With any luck, we’ll be on the road on Thursday (or Friday).

Going Where We Want, When We Want

2007-11-27T09:54:00.000-06:00

Kim and I had an argument yesterday. Kim said we had too much to do and she wanted to postpone our departure date until Thursday. A little later, she suggested we wait until Friday to leave.

I was very reluctant to change our departure date. We already are a week-and-a-half behind our original schedule and I didn’t want to change our departure date yet again. I dug in my heels and said that I didn’t want to leave any later than we were already leaving.

Then Kim said something that struck a chord with me. She said, “The only reason we are supposed to leave Wednesday is because we decided we were going to leave Wednesday. Since we made that decision, why can’t we just decide to leave later?” She paused for a second, either to gather her thoughts or for dramatic effect. I’m not sure which. “This is our trip and we should be able to make the decisions about where we go and when we go.”

Kim was right. This cross-country RV extravaganza isn’t about keeping to an arbitrary schedule. One of the beauties of traveling in an RV is that you can go where you want, when you want. You’re not shackled by a pre-determined itinerary or airline schedules or even what you wanted to do a month ago. You’re free to do the things you want to do right now. I had kind of lost track of this fact.

So our new “schedule” calls for us to leave on Thursday or Friday of this week instead of Wednesday. This will allow us to spread out the things we still have to get done before we leave. We won’t have to kill ourselves to get ready. We can get things done in a more relaxed fashion.

And that’s another thing this trip is supposed to be about. We are supposed to relax and unwind. The trip is supposed to be enjoyable, not a race to the finish. So from now on (at least as much as I can) we will go where we want to go and we will go when we want to go. We will relax, unwind, and enjoy the journey.

This is our motto for today. Of course, it is subject to change without notice. If we’re going to be free to do what we want to do, then I am free to stick to an arbitrary schedule if I want, right?

Review: Opie's Sports Bar & Grill

2007-11-26T22:15:00.000-06:00

Opie’s Sports Bar and Grill isn’t your usual pizzeria. First, it is located in Wedron, IL, a very small town far off the beaten path. Second, it’s officially a sports bar, not a pizzeria. Yet, they are known for their pizza (and Aunt Bee’s fried chicken), which is the best in the area.

In the interest of full disclosure, the pizza chef at Opie’s is my brother, Mike. He and his friend Steve (who owns Opie’s) spent a lot of time experimenting with different sauces before they were happy with the sauce they now offer on their pizzas. Mike, Steve, and their friend John have become “foodies” over the past few years and they spend a great deal of their time brainstorming food, cooking food, and eating food.

Back at Opie’s we ordered a cheese pizza for the kids, and Kim, Mike and I shared a sausage and mushroom pie. Opie’s serves both a thin and thick crust. On Mike’s recommendation, we opted for the thin crust. We also chose to have the pie cut in triangles rather than squares (that was a mistake).

The crust came out thin and uniform. It was cooked just right; done, but not overdone. The sauce was a more tart, Italian style sauce than I am used to. It was tasty. My only complaint was that there wasn’t enough of it. We talked at length with Mike and Steve about this and everyone agreed that more sauce was needed.

The other ingredients were fresh and delicious. The sausage in particular was very good. The mushrooms were also good, but there weren’t enough of them. Since Mike is not a big fan of mushrooms and he knew he would be sharing the pie with us, he went a little light on the fungi.

The kids also enjoyed their cheese pizza. They said they thought it was really good, but the thing that told me that they must have liked it was that they finished the whole pie; something they rarely do.

I mentioned that we made a mistake not having the pizza cut into squares. I can't fully explain it, but the pizza at Opie's is made for squares, not triangles. Maybe it's because Opie's pizza reminds me of pizzas we used to get from Gario's or Tony Weeds in Aurora, IL when I was a kid. It was always good and always cut into squares.

Overall, the pizza at Opie’s was very good. I would give it a 7 out of 10. If you are ever in Wedron, IL, stop by Opie’s for a pizza and a beer. And tell them Lou sent you.

Running From Mediocrity

2007-11-26T09:57:00.000-06:00

I’m currently reading a book called “States of Mind” by Brad Herzog. Herzog is probably best known for his children’s books (E is for Extreme, K is for Kick, etc), but he has also written two travel narratives. In addition to “States of Mind,” which was published in 1999, he also wrote “Small World” in 2004.

In these travel narratives, Herzog travels around the country in an RV, stopping in small towns and writing about the interesting, quirky, and inspiring people and stories he finds there. I was first attracted to these books because of the RV angle, but what has hooked me are the stories he tells and the observations he makes.

I recently came across a passage in “States of Mind” that helps to explain one of the main driving forces behind our cross-country RV trip. In this passage, Herzog and his wife Amy are out sailing near Friendship, Maine with Bill and Caroline Zuber. As Herzog explains, the Zubers have lived their lives by their own dictates. They gave up jobs and businesses, and even their home, to live the way they wanted, where they wanted. Herzog says:

“It was then that I realized what I admired so much about Bill and Caroline Zuber. They were in total control of their lives. They had taken it upon themselves to define the moment. It was a concept that became the credo of our cross-country tour and, indeed, a blueprint for our future, so much so that Amy and I turned the journey into a search for a home, setting lofty criteria for the life we wanted to live and looking for the environment that would meet them. We even began a list of fifty things we wanted to do before we died – attend a rocket launch, raft the Colorado River, catch Springsteen at a small venue – to make sure our epiphany wouldn’t be lost over the years amid the haze of compromise.

“Too many people I know – and these are young people, people with options – seem to settle for entrenched mediocrity, merely tolerating their day-to-day existence. A few even seem to revel in misery, the late hours or cold winters or tyrannical bosses or shunted dreams. They trudge through fifty weeks of tedium to enjoy two weeks of reprieve – maybe three weeks, if they’re lucky enough to get a promotion.”

I feel the same way. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and regret that I never lived the way I want to live. I don’t want to be a living example to my kids that life is a series of struggles and compromise the only option. I want them to see, through my example, that life is something wonderful and the only thing you have to do to live your dreams is to choose to do it. I would rather fail spectacularly than to never try.

I hope this helps to explain at least part of my motivation. I sometimes have trouble explaining myself, but I think Herzog has hit the nail on the head.

Time To Get Back To Work

2007-11-25T23:53:00.000-06:00

The Thanksgiving holiday is over and we are back to work. And with only three days until we start our trip in earnest, there is plenty still to do.

Today was spent cleaning the RV and re-installing the furniture. Everything went pretty smoothly until it was time to install the sofa. The new carpet covered the holes where the bolts go that secure the sofa to the floor and I had a heck of a time finding them. Things finally worked out, but it took a lot of time.

Tomorrow we’ll finish cleaning the RV, pack everything in the garage, and make sure everything in the house is packed and ready to be moved on Tuesday. We’re also taking the RV over to Coulee Region RV to have the tire extender installed.

It’s late, so I’ll cut this short for tonight. Once I have more time I’ll post the reviews of the pizza we had at Opie’s Bar & Grill in Wedron, IL and at Davis Bros. Pizza in East Peoria.

We're Back

2007-11-24T22:21:00.000-06:00

We just got back from Kim’s parents where we spent Thanksgiving. It was good seeing everyone, but I kept thinking about all of the work that needs to be done when we get home. Of course, the preoccupation didn’t keep me from eating.

We had a great Thanksgiving meal at Kim’s parents house. We had turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and all of the other trimmings. After dinner, a bunch of Kim’s relatives stopped by and brought dessert. We had a bunch of different desserts and they all looked good. I only sampled three (pumpkin pie, lemon meringue pie, pecan pie) and they were all good. The next day I tried Kim’s Mom’s carrot cake (it was also good), but I didn’t have room for it on Thanksgiving.

On the way to Kim’s parents we stopped and visited my brother Mike. Mike and his friend Steve developed a pizza sauce that Mike has bragged about for years. I finally had to try it. We went to Steve’s restaurant/bar, Opie’s Bar & Grill in Wedron., IL, to give the pizza a try. In an upcoming post, I’ll review the pizza.

On Friday night we had pizza at Davis Bros. Pizza in East Peoria, IL. I’ll review the pizza in an upcoming post, but for now I’ll say that it is one of the most unusual pizzas I’ve ever had.

Time for bed now. Tomorrow we have to get back to work.

An Unintended Day Off

2007-11-20T21:42:00.000-06:00

What a waste of a day. I woke up this morning and felt horrible. I stayed up for about an hour and then went back to bed. I stayed there until 4:30 this afternoon. As you might have guessed, I didn’t get anything accomplished. Kim packed a few more boxes, but we didn’t get anything moved.

We talked to the carpet store late this afternoon and found out that they were just finishing up the carpet in the RV. So Kim and I headed up to Coon Valley and picked up the Big Rolling Turd. Although it was dark when we picked up the RV, I have to say that the flooring looks great. I’ll know more tomorrow, but we’re happy about it right now.

Shelby is feeling better, but her throat is still raw. The doctor says she doesn’t have strep throat. She has a virus and it just has to run its course. She’s getting her energy back, so good health should just be a day or two away.

Tomorrow we are going to visit my brother and then we’re going down to Kim’s parents for Thanksgiving. After the holiday, we’re coming home to finish moving things and get the RV cleaned and packed. I guess a couple of days of rest will do us good, but I’m anxious to get things done. It's time to hit the road.

Another Day, Another Delay

2007-11-19T19:34:00.000-06:00

The start of the day wasn’t so great. First thing this morning we got a call from Tim at the carpet store letting us know that they had run into a problem putting the laminate flooring in the RV. Part of the sub-floor under the linoleum in the bathroom had gotten wet and needed to be replaced. It’s not that big of a deal, but it’s just another delay that we really don’t need.

Speaking of delays, our original schedule had us leaving on our trip today. Then we had to push it back a couple of days and our new departure date was going to be Wednesday, November 21. Unfortunately, we’re not going to be ready Wednesday either, so we are changing our plans again.

Our new plan calls for us to leave next Tuesday, November 27. We could probably leave earlier, but Thanksgiving is this week and we are going to be spending time with Kim’s family. Unfortunately, rather than staying with them all weekend, we’re going to have to come home to get the Big Rolling Turd ready to hit the road. Every day we delay our departure we are increasing the odds of getting a heavy snow before we leave. And we don’t want that.

A Day of Rest

2007-11-18T22:33:00.000-06:00

Today was a fairly lazy day. I made one trip with the van to drop stuff off at the office. I’m so sore, I didn’t dare take another load over. I think Kim and I both needed a fairly laid back day. Kim taped up some boxes in the basement and finished packing the kids’ rooms, but otherwise took it easy. However, we’re back at it tomorrow.

Yesterday was anything but a day of rest. Kim and I were using the U-Haul truck to move some boxes to the ofifce and we were struggling to get it done. Thankfully, our friends Roger and Tara once again came to the rescue. They showed up at the office (even though they had their own work to do) and helped us get everything out of the truck and into the basement. They were absolute life savers. After everything was moved into the office and we got cleaned up, we went out to The Firehouse to have dinner and celebrate. I'm going to miss our dinners with Roger and Tara over the next eight months.

I hate to admit it, but it’s looking more and more like we are not going to be able to hit the road until next weekend or the beginning of next week. We might get the Big Rolling Turd back tomorrow from the carpet store, but we still have to re-install the furniture and clean the interior and storage areas before we can get started. We also have to pack the RV. On top of that, we still have some stuff in the house to move into storage.

I’m anxious to hit the road, but one of the goals we have for the trip is to relax a little bit. We’ve been stressed out pretty much non-stop for the past seven years. A little relaxation will be welcome. So I guess there’s no need to rush to get started. If we take a few extra days to get ready, what will be the harm in the long run?

We haven’t decided yet if we are going to postpone the start of the trip. We’ll talk more about it and see what we can come up with. Maybe we’ll make a decision tomorrow.

Another Busy Day

2007-11-17T14:05:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a day already. Kim has been taping up boxes and I’ve been loading the boxes into the U-Haul. It’s lunch time now. Then more taping, loading, and eventually unloading at the office.

Kim called the carpet store this morning only to discover that they still haven’t started on the RV. Kim didn’t get nasty, but she was firm enough that the owner of the carpet store came in today to work on the job. He hopes to have it done mid-day on Monday.

I found the tire extenders I need at Coulee Region RV in West Salem. Bill in their Parts Dept. has bee really helpful. He made an appointment for us to bring the RV in on Tuesday.

The plan is still to hit the road on Wednesday. The house will be all packed up and in storage, but we’re not sure if the RV is going to be ready. We’re going to go pick it up tomorrow so we can clean it and then take it back to the carpet store so they can finish it on Monday. Then when we get it back on Tuesday, after we take it to the RV store to get the tire extenders installed, we still have to reinstall all of the furniture. When that’s done, then we have to pack all of our stuff into the RV. We’re going to be cutting it close.

Poor Shelby is still sick. She's going to miss Honor Band today. Her throat is really sore and swollen. Kim was going to take her to the walk-in clinic, but it closes at 12:00 noon and Kim didn't call until a little after noon. If Shelby is still sick on Monday we'll have to take her to the doctor then.

Okay, lunch is done. Time to get back to work.

Update: I forgot to mention that it has been snowing all day. We had almost a half inch on the ground this morning, but it has melted. Even though it has warmed a bit (I think it's about 38 right now), the snow is still falling. There's just enough to make everything sloppy and to make the ramp for the truck slick. For all of you in Florida reading this, why aren't you up here enjoying this weather (and the big move) with us?

A Very Long Day

2007-11-16T22:46:00.000-06:00

All of the heavy stuff got moved today. Roger and I did all the heavy lifting and we were able to get everything into the back room at my office. We'll be moving boxes and all of the smaller stuff tomorrow. A lot of the stuff will be going in the basement at the office, although some will go in the back room.

I'm absolutely exhausted at the moment. I have to say that Roger was a huge help today. We started moving stuff at 8:30 am and didn't get done until after 8:00 pm. We only stopped long enough to get lunch. It was a long day.

I don't know what is going on with the new flooring in the RV. We didn't hear from the carpet store today. When Kim finally called, they were already closed. I sure hope they got the flooring done.

I wasn't able to find anyone in town that carries the extensions for the rear tires. I'm going to have to call the RV store over in West Salem tomorrow to see if they have one in stock. Then I'll have to make arrangements to have the extension installed.

Today was the kids last day of school. Louis had a great day with everyone giving him a big hug at the end of the day. Shelby had band practice beginning at noon and she was supposed to have a concert tonight and tomorrow night. Unfortunately, she got sick during practice today and it's not looking good for her to participate tomorrow. It's too bad because Shelby was chosen as one of the best 7th grade trombone players in the area and being chosen to be in Honor Band is a pretty special thing. Unfortunately, it doesn't look llke things are going to work out for her this year.

Tomorrow's another big day, so I'd better get to bed. Good night. . .

Another Untimely Death

2007-11-15T15:14:00.000-06:00

Another untimely death took place in Coon Valley, so the carpet installer/funeral director is tied up again today. The owner of the carpet store (the brother of the funeral director) says that he has made arrangements to have someone else install the flooring and that it will all be done by the end of the day tomorrow (Friday). We’re getting pushed back more and more. Kim would like to push off our departure until Wednesday, but I’m still shooting for Monday. Either way, we’ve got a lot to do.

We realized a couple of days ago that the extension to put air in one of the rear tires is missing and the tire is soft. It’s an easy fix, but in order to do the job, you have to have a big jack (probably 10 ton or bigger). I found a tire store in town that has the jack to do the job, but they don’t have the extension. Now I’m trying to track down an extension so the tire store can do the job on Saturday. I called the local RV store, but they closed early today, so now I have to wait until tomorrow.

Our efforts at getting the house packed up are going slow. We’ll be packing things up tonight in preparation for moving all of the big, heavy stuff out tomorrow. My hope is that we can get all the big stuff moved tomorrow (Kim says she doesn’t see any way we can get that done in one day) and then move all of the boxed items on Saturday and Sunday. We’ll see. . .

Today is Louis’ birthday. He is eight years old. I can only imagine what he is thinking about all of this. He’s looking forward to our trip, but I don’t think he really understands completely that we are going to be living in a big metal box for eight months.

I want so much for this trip to be a positive experience for the kids. Probably my biggest fear in taking this RV trip is that I’m going to somehow let the kids down. I know they are excited and I know they are resilient, but I keep wondering if I’ve overlooked anything that could turn out to be negative for the kids. God, I hope not.

* * * * * * * * * *

UPDATE: We just made the decision not to leave on our Great Big Road Trip until Wednesday, November 21. We still plan on stopping to see my brother on the way south, but then we are going directly to Kim's parents. That means we will be skipping the trip to Springfield. The kids will probably never learn who Abraham Lincoln is, but we need the extra couple of days to get ready.

A Big Decision

2007-11-14T07:24:00.000-06:00

Our lives are shaped in large part by the decisions we make. Like a rock being thrown into a pond, the ripples flow outward and affect the pond far from where the rock entered the water. Decisions that we made five or ten years ago have led us to the point now where we are going cross-country in an RV. I hope that the decision to take the RV trip will have a positive impact on all of us, but particularly the kids, in the years to come.

I know that’s kind of deep thinking from a relatively shallow guy like me, but that’s what I was thinking about this morning as I laid in bed unable to sleep. Getting the RV ready, moving everything into storage and making all of the plans for our trip consume our time and efforts, but my biggest concern is how the trip will affect everyone in our family. Obviously, I think it is going to have a positive impact, otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it. Even so, I can’t help but be concerned.

Of Tow Dollies and Untimely Deaths

2007-11-13T21:34:00.000-06:00

The news for today: We bought a tow dolly and someone died in Coon Valley.

To elaborate, we decided to bid on a tow dolly on EBay last night. Using a tow dolly to tow our van behind the Big Rolling Turd isn’t a perfect option, but it is cheaper than the other options. So we bid on the tow dolly and we got it. I’m going over tomorrow to West Bend, WI to pick it up. The pictures and description look good, so I think we made the right move.

As I explained in yesterday’s post, the person installing the new flooring in our RV is also a funeral director. The family owns a funeral home and a flooring store. Unfortunately, someone in Coon Valley died, so the funeral director is tied up until Thursday. I’m going to take the RV over to them tomorrow (Wednesday) night and they’re going to install the flooring on Thursday and Friday. That pushes our schedule back a little bit, but we should be okay.

Kim and I went over and got a bunch of empty boxes from the Agri-Center today. The van was completely full. I hope we got enough because we really don’t have time to go back and get more.

I finally tore down the plastic shelving in the garage and basement today. I’ve been avoiding this for over a week, but when I finally started doing it, it only took about an hour. Sometimes the anticipation of doing something is worse than actually doing it.

Tomorrow is going to be a fairly big day. First thing in the morning we’re going to have a meeting at the office to finalize how things are going to work in our absence. Then I’m going to take off to get the tow dolly. When I get home, we’re going to have to take the RV up to Coon Valley. It should be a full day.

By the way, Sarasota Steve dropped by to read the blog. Steve has Mote Marine as a Google Alert and when I mentioned in a previous post that we would be visiting Mote while we are in Sarasota, Steve was alerted. Thanks for stopping by, Steve. Don't be a stranger.

What's Love Got To Do With It?

2007-11-12T16:17:00.000-06:00

It happens all of the time, yet it never ceases to amaze me when you try to do something out of the ordinary (like a cross-country RV trip) and friends and family are only too eager to tell you that you are making a big mistake. I’m sure that on some level, the rejection of your idea (whatever it may be) is based out of love and concern, but it never seems to come across that way.

I look at these things differently. My first reaction is always to be supportive and to offer any help I can. If someone wants to do something that I think is a mistake, I don’t assume that my few moments of thought should outweigh and override the considerable consideration that the other person has given the idea. I just want to see people get what they desire and if it is possible, I want to help them get it.

Okay, enough of that. In other news, Roger and I replaced the two broken springs on the hydraulic leveling jacks this morning. It was not an easy task and there’s no way I could have done it without Roger’s help. We also went and filled up the propane tank. In case you were wondering, our propane tank holds 16 gallons.

The next task is to take the Big Rolling Turd to have the new flooring installed. The laminate flooring was in stock at the carpet place and the carpet we ordered is supposed to arrive today. I was hoping to take the Turd to Seland’s (the carpet store) today, but Tim at Seland’s hasn’t called me back to let me know if I should bring it up today or tomorrow. The one potential hold up is that Tim’s brother, Mark is going to install the flooring. Mark is also the funeral director in Coon Valley, so if anyone died in Coon Valley over the weekend, our flooring job may be delayed. Such is life in a small town.

We are debating whether or not to buy a tow dolly to tow our van behind the RV. There is one for sale on EBay right now that is located over near Milwaukee. It’s exactly the type of tow dolly that we need and it is a heck of a lot less expensive than what it would cost to put a transmission fluid pump and brake buddy on the van (about $4,000), but it’s not as convenient as towing the van with all four wheels on the ground. The auction is over in about three-and-a-half hours, so we need to make up out minds pretty quick.

Our Itinerary (Part 1)

2007-11-11T22:14:00.000-06:00

Last night I started making reservations at the various campgrounds where we will be staying beginning next week through the end of January. I’ve posted our itinerary for our first couple months on the road below. Unfortunately, I had to change our itinerary a bit.

The first change was also the most painful. During the week of January 14 we were planning on staying at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, FL. We were looking forward to our stay because we were all going to get the chance to go snorkeling and the kids were going to take a class up the road at Biscayne National Park.

Unfortunately, John Pennekamp is completely full that week (in fact, most weeks during the winter), so we had to find another place to stay. Luckily, I was able to find an open space at the Flamingo Campground in the Everglades National Park. I haven’t had enough time to check into all of the things that are offered at Everglades National Park yet, but I know we’ll be able to go kayaking and fishing. We also could just use the park as a base camp, but the campground is so deep in the park (over 30 miles from the entrance) that going anywhere will be quite a drive.

The other change we had to make was moving from Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, FL to Little Manatee River State Park in Wimauma, FL (between Bradenton and Tampa). Myakka River State Park was filled up during the week of January 21. The worst part about the move is that we will be further away from our niece, Danielle, who goes to school at Ringling College in Sarasota. Thankfully, we will still be able to drive into Sarasota without too much hardship, but it would have been nice to be closer to Danielle.

We are really down to crunch time now. Only eight more days until we start heading south. We have a ton of stuff to pack up and move into storage and we have precious little time to do it. I’m confident that we’ll get everything done in time to hit the road on November 19, but I’m not looking forward to moving all of our stuff.

Here’s our itinerary for the first two-and-a-half months of our adventure:

Week of November 19 – We will be starting our journey by visiting my brother Mike (as opposed to Kim’s brother Mike) in Wedron, IL. Mike is a cook and he claims he has come up with the best tasting pizza sauce known to man. He is going to cook up a pizza for us so we can judge for ourselves. We hope to make it to Springfield, IL by the end of the day on the 19th. We’ll be staying at Sangchris Lake State Park and will be visiting the Lincoln sites. Then we’ll be heading back north to East Peoria where we’ll be spending Thanksgiving with Kim’s family (including her brother Mike).

Week of November 26 – On Monday we’ll be making our way to Cedars of Lebanon State Park in Lebanon, TN. During the week we’ll be visiting with our friends Jerry and Caryl (as opposed to Kim’s parents Jerry and Carol). We’ll be checking out the Christmas decorations at the Opryland Hotel, we’ll be visiting the country Music Hall of Fame, and we plan on taking something called the NashTrash Tour of Nashville. It is supposed to be hilarious. The thing I’m looking forward to the most is attending a concert at the world famous Bluebird Café.

Week of December 3 – We’ll be staying at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, AL. The park will be our home base for visiting Huntsville (US Space and Rocket Center, Earlyworks Hands-on History Museum), Birmingham (Southern Museum of Flight, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute), and Montgomery (Rosa Parks Library & Museum, Civil Rights Memorial, W.A. Gayle Planetarium). While we are in Birmingham, we are going to hook up with our friends Neil & Gail Wallace at Area 41 Pizza Company. It’s supposed to be real good.

Week of December 10 – Our home for the week will be the campground at Stone Mountain near Atlanta. This is one of the few private campgrounds we’ll be staying in (and paying through the nose for the privilege). This week we’ll be spending time at Stone Mountain Amusement Park as well as visiting the World of Coca-Cola, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center and Library, and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. In addition, well be visiting with our friends Randy Pobst and Kevin & Jackie Walsh.

Week of December 17 through January 13 – We will be spending the time around Christmas and New Year’s with my parents in Port St. Lucie, FL. We have a lot of things planned for our time with my parents including visiting with our many friends in the area. We also hope to try some pizza places we’ve never tried before and maybe catch some live music.

Week of January 14 – We’ll be staying in the Everglades National Park. The week will be filled with fishing, canoeing, and other fun stuff. I still need to do a little research to find out what is available in and around the park.

Week of January 21 – Little Manatee River State Park in Wimuama, FL will be our home base for the week. We are going to visit our niece, Danielle, and tour the campus of her school, Ringling College. We’ll also be visiting the Ringling Circus Museum, the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, and the Pelican Man Bird Sanctuary.

Week of January 28 – We’ll be staying at Cedar Key Sunset Isle RV Park, another private campground. Cedar Key bills itself as being what Florida used to be like. This will be a rather relaxed week of kayaking, fishing, and visiting some of the state parks in the area, including the Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge).

Beginning in February we will continue our journey through Pensacola, New Orleans, several stops in Texas, and then continue heading west. More on that later . . .

No Rest For The Wicked

2007-11-08T09:15:00.000-06:00

Today will be a busy day. Right now, the upholstery in the RV is being steam cleaned and deodorized. I’m not sure how long that will take, but when it is done, then Kim and I have to go back to Coon Valley to pick out wood flooring to replace the linoleum that is in the kitchen and bathroom (yes, we’re spending more money). Then, we are going to drop off a bunch of toys and clothes that we are donating to victims of the recent flooding.

I’m hoping we can get all of this done by noon. When we get this stuff done, then I have to get a P.O. Box for our mail, submit a forwarding order, and pick up some empty boxes at the local hardware store (Nelson’s Agri-Center). We need the boxes so we can start packing up the house.

That’s the plan. What do you think the odds are that I’ll get everything done?

UPDATE: Things didn't go exactly as planned, but by the end of the day, I got everything done. Tomorrow is going to be another busy day. T-minus 10 days and counting. Time is sure moving fast.

The Painting is Done

2007-11-07T16:53:00.000-06:00

The painting of the Big Rolling Turd is complete. I finished the second coat of Kilz today, so my part of rehabbing the Turd is done (for now). We’re having the upholstery all cleaned tomorrow (including the treatments around the windows and the ceiling), then Kim is going to get busy cleaning the rest of the RV.

At 3:00 this afternoon it was only 39 degrees. To make matters worse, the wind was blowing out of the north making it feel even colder. I’m anxious to hit the road and start heading south. As much as I like living in Wisconsin 7-8 months out of the year, I really dislike the winter months.

If I get a chance tomorrow, I’ll post our itinerary for November and December. People have been asking about where we’re going to be when, so I hope this will help.

What A Difference A Day Makes

2007-11-06T20:24:00.000-06:00

Today was a better day. The weather was the same as yesterday (cold & windy), but I got a lot more done.

The day started off with Habit for Humanity arriving to pick up some furniture that we donated to them. It was good to get the stuff out of the basement and it is good to know that the furniture is going to an organization that can really use it. Another good thing is that I’m not going to have to move it into storage :-)

After Habitat for Humanity left, I got busy painting the sub-floor of the RV. Generally speaking, I am not a good painter because I am not patient enough to be careful. Even so, the painting went well. As Johnny Bench used to say in the old Rustoleum commercials, “No runs, no drips, no errors.”

Kim thinks we should put a second coat of paint on the floor just to make sure that the dog pee smell doesn’t return. I don’t want to do it, but I think she is right. So tomorrow, I’ll be adding another coat of Kilz to the RV. As long as we have everything out of the Big Rolling Turd, we might as well get it done now.

Another new development is that we are thinking about replacing the linoleum that is in the RV. It covers the kitchen and bathroom areas. The linoleum was in relatively good shape when we got the RV, but somehow we’ve gotten a couple of small rips in it. Since the linoleum is faded and dated anyway, and since we’ll have the floor guys in there already to replace the carpet, I guess it makes sense to get the job done now.

We’re thinking about putting in either more linoleum or a floating wood laminate floor. At the moment, we don’t know what we’ll be looking at for cost, so we’re not sure which direction we’re going to go. My guess is that we’ll choose to do whatever is cheaper.

Because I’ll be painting again tomorrow, I’ll be getting another day behind on moving things into storage. We only have a week-and-a-half to go, so I really need to get busy on that. Hopefully, tomorrow will be the last day I’ll be tied up with the RV and then I’ll be able to turn my attention to moving out of the house.

T-minus 12 days and counting. . .

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

2007-11-05T18:29:00.000-06:00

I’m having trouble getting going today. I’m still not feeling great, but I need to get things done. I went out to the RV and removed the last of the carpet staples. The sub-floor is ready to paint, but I’m having trouble working up the ambition to do it. I’m falling behind schedule and I don’t like it.

Kim is alone in the office today. Roger is still combining (harvesting) his corn, so Kim had to go in and hold down the fort. She needs to start spending more time at home getting ready for our road trip, but she had to be at the office today. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Maybe it’s the weather that’s making me unambitious today. It was hailing this morning and then it started snowing this afternoon. It’s just one of those gray Midwestern winter days. It’s the first we’ve seen this year, but I’m sure it won’t be the last. Hopefully, we’ll be on the road and heading south before we get too many more days like today.

Okay, here’s what I’m going to do. I have to pick the kids up at school in about 45 minutes. After I pick them up, I’ll come back home and start painting. That’s the plan. Let’s see how things work out.

UPDATE: Well, things didn’t work out as planned. After I picked up the kids, Kim and I had to go to Coon Valley to pick out carpet. The carpet has to be ordered right away in order to have it delivered by next week when it is supposed to be installed. Although we looked at the carpet, we did not finalize our choice. I’m hoping we can still do that tonight so the carpet can be ordered first thing in the morning.

So it looks like tomorrow will be painting day. I hope I can summon up enough ambition to get things done tomorrow.

Carpet Removal is Done

2007-11-04T11:58:00.000-06:00

HALLELUJAH!

The carpet is all out of the Big Rolling Turd. The job was much more difficult than I expected and the carpet was much more filthy and disgusting than you can imagine. But the carpet is out of the RV and I’m very happy.

Unfortunately, the job took its toll on Kim and me. Last night Kim had a headache from breathing in all of the crap that we stirred up by tearing out the carpet. I’m having the same problem today. My sinuses feel like their full of dust.

I was supposed to be painting the sub-floor with Kilz today, but that chore is looking like it may have to wait until tomorrow. We have very few days (just 16) left until we start our great adventure. I hate to waste even one day, but unless my headache improves, I think I’ll be staying in the house today.

I need to give a couple of shout outs today. First, there’s no way I could have gotten the carpet all done yesterday without Kim’s help. Thank you, Kim. We make a good team.

Also, a huge thank you to Roger for helping me winterize the Big Rolling Turd last night. I wasn’t sure how to do it and the temperatures in our area have been below freezing at night, so I really needed Roger’s help. To make Roger’s help even more appreciated is the fact that he had just started combining about 200 acres of corn last night, and he still found time to come over and help. Thanks, Rog!

Review: Great River Roadhouse

2007-11-03T07:51:00.000-05:00

The Great River Roadhouse on U.S. 35 in DeSoto, WI was a very pleasant surprise. When we first moved to Viroqua, we were disappointed that the only pizza place in town was Pizza Hut. Since we tend to be pizzaholics, this was a concern. Then we tried the Great River Roadhouse.

The first thing you notice when you enter the Great River Roadhouse is the atmosphere. The exterior resembles a northwoods lodge which is continued in to the interior. Stuffed animals and antique handsaws share space with neon beer signs and nautical hardware like boat pulleys and lanterns. Through the front windows you can watch tug boats pushing barges down the mighty Mississippi River which is right across the road. The view to the Mississippi is occasionally obscured by a passing freight train, which serves to add to, rather than detract from, the atmosphere.

Of course, the atmosphere is just window dressing. The real star is the pizza. The Great River Roadhouse pizza features a thin crust that serves as a strong foundation for a slightly sweet sauce and mounds of cheese and other toppings. I’ve never had a bad pizza at The Great River Roadhouse. My favorites include sausage and mushroom, taco, BLT (very good), and my all-time favorite buffalo pie, which has wing sauce, chicken, onions, and cheese. It’s fantastic.

We’ve had the opportunity to sample pizza from around Wisconsin and have never found a pie that can touch the Great River Roadhouse. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the pizza at the Great River Roadhouse as a solid 7.5 (and I’m even leaning toward 8). It is the best pizza we have had outside of Chicago.

Removing Carpet is Hard to Do

2007-11-02T15:40:00.000-05:00

I didn’t think it would be this hard. Removing the carpet from the Big Rolling Turd has been a difficult and trying experience. I finally got the carpet up in the bedroom and I’m working on the front of the RV now. Rather than being tacked down in the front, the carpet is glued directly to the plywood sub-floor. I’m hoping that the going is a little easier and quicker once I get into the living area of the RV.

I plan on having all of the carpet out of the RV by tomorrow. I need to get it done so I can start moving our stuff into storage. We are just 17 days away from hitting the road and we still have a ton of things to do. Kim and I are working on a schedule for the next 17 days to make sure that we don’t forget to do something.

I’m also thinking about tweaking our itinerary a bit. After we leave Illinois after Thanksgiving, we are supposed to go to a state park in Bardstown, KY where we will have easy access to both Lexington and Louisville. However, we only have time to stay there for a couple of days before we are scheduled to be in the Nashville area for a few days. Rather than rushing through both areas, I think we’ll skip Kentucky and spend an entire week in Nashville. We have friends in the area and we want to make sure we have plenty of time to visit with them.

This is going to be a hellacious couple of weeks. I’ll be happy when we’re finally on the road.

Demolition Man

2007-10-29T22:03:00.000-05:00

The demolition of The Big Rolling Turd started today. I removed two of the three captains chairs and the sofa from the RV. I also removed the overhead vent covers which were filthy. The intake filters for the two A/C units were so dirty, I don’t know how they worked. Both A/C units should be much happier now.

I started to remove the carpet from the rear bedroom, but I had trouble removing the pedestal that the mattress sits on. At this point, one screw is holding me up. I’m going to have to drill out the screw tomorrow and then remove the pedestal so I can get the carpet out in one piece.

I’ve also run into a problem ordering the springs for the leveling jacks. I’m going to have to run over to the RV dealer (about 45 minutes away) tomorrow to have them measure the spring that broke off one of the rear jacks.

In the next day or two, we need to make a decision on what carpet we are going to get and who we are going to have install the carpet. Apparently, installing carpet in an RV is a bit of a specialty and not just any carpet installer can do it. We’ve gotten one quote, but we made the mistake of picking out carpet that is too expensive. Now we have to go back to pick out more affordable carpet.

We are scheduled to leave in just three weeks. My gosh, I don’t know how we are going to get everything done, but well find a way. We have to.

Review: Mabe's Pizza

2007-10-28T10:21:00.000-05:00

NOTE: During our great big road trip, we will be looking for the best pizza places in the U.S. We're starting our search a little early with a visit to Mabe's Pizza.

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I had heard good things about Mabe’s Pizza in Decorah, IA. Several websites I’ve run across sing the praises of Mabe’s, so I finally decided that I need to try it for myself.

Mabe’s is located at 110 E. Water St. in downtown Decorah. Decorah is a very quaint little town. We got there at about 6:00 pm on a Saturday night. I wish we had gotten there earlier to spend some time looking around.

We ordered two pizzas; a regular (sausage & pepperoni) with extra cheese and a barbeque chicken pizza. Unfortunately, they mixed our order up a little bit and put the extra cheese on the barbeque chicken pizza. Oh well. Other than this one slip-up, the service was pretty good.

The barbeque chicken pizza was very good, although the extra cheese made it a bit heavy for the thin crust. The sauce was tasty and the chicken was tender white meat.

The regular was good, but not great. It was slightly undercooked for my tastes. Kim thought the crust was fine, but it was a bit soft in my opinion and it had too much flour left on the bottom of the crust. This made the pizza rather dry.

Mabe's crust is thin, but not crunchy. Although I wasn't crazy about it, it was consistent from pizza to pizza.

On a scale of 1-10, I would give Mabe’s a 6 (slightly above average). Having read several reviews of the place, my expectations were pretty high. Unfortunately, I was a little bit disappointed. The pizza was good, but I had hoped for more.

The Big Rolling Turd (and other news)

2007-10-27T09:41:00.000-05:00

Our new RV is being called The Big Rolling Turd by everyone now. As you may know, that is the nickname that they gave to the motorhome in the movie “RV.” I don’t like it and I think our RV deserves a more dignified name. I’ll live with The Big Rolling Turd for now, but once we put in new carpet, deodorize the inside, and finally hit the road, I’m going to petition for a new name.

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I put the leveling jacks down for the first time the other day and I broke off the retracting spring on the right rear jack. Now I have to figure out where to get a new spring. Just add it to the list of things that need to be done before we leave.

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I had lunch with Anne O’Connor, editor of the Kickapoo Free Press (our local monthly newspaper) and I told her about our upcoming trip. She thinks the idea is very cool and would like to include a monthly update from the road in the paper. I like the idea because it will give me a chance to write for publication and it will help me to keep up with my efforts to chronicle our whole trip. The first update will be in the December issue.

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Anne’s husband, Joe Hart, has agreed to edit Lake of the Falls, my book of short stories. That is so cool. Joe is a very accomplished writer and I’m looking forward to working with him. The book is so far past the original publication date that I hate to even guess when it might be published. I’m hoping to have it published by next summer, but we’ll see.

**********

We’re going to pick out new carpet for The Big Rolling Turd today. Installing carpet in an RV is a bit of a specialty and we’ve only found one company in the greater La Crosse area that does it. Hopefully, they are not ridiculously expensive. We’ll know later today.

The Long Road Home

2007-10-25T21:18:00.000-05:00

When I was 16-years old, a friend let me use his motorcycle. I had never ridden a motorcycle before, but how difficult could it be, I reasoned. After all, I was a young daredevil who loved speed, so I figured riding a motorcycle should be second nature to me.

As I sped down the road, I kept a white knuckle grip on the handle bars. I was going so fast, I was afraid to look at the speedometer or glance in the rearview mirror. After several minutes at this death-defying speed, I finally got the guts up to take my eyes off the road to look in the mirror and at the speedometer. To my surprise, there were four cars stacked up behind me right on my tail. To my amazement, I was only going 20 mph.

It was kind of the same thing when I climbed behind the wheel of the RV for the first time. Driving down California 101, I felt like I was going 100 mph. It was difficult handling the big beast on the hills and curves, but the speedometer said I was only going 40 mph in a 55 mph zone. This was going to take some getting used to.

Just a few miles out of Willits, CA I turned onto CA 20 and drove through the California lake country. It was beautiful, but I was more concerned with the many hills and curves. Even so, little by little I started to get used to driving the RV.

By the time I got to Sacramento and turned onto I-80, I was feeling pretty comfortable driving our new home. The speed limit kicked up to 70 mph and I was able to keep up with traffic.

In eastern California, I-80 swings north of Lake Tahoe and heads into the Virginia Mountains in Western Nevada. The road becomes curvy and goes up and down the mountains. The RV isn’t fond of climbing hills. It struggles a bit and it takes a lot of oomph just to maintain 45-50 mph. Even so, the Big Rolling Turd (as in the movie “RV”) didn’t miss a beat. It slowed down a bit, but continued to run strong.

As I drove through Reno, NV (The Biggest Little Town in America), I thought about stopping to see if I could get my RV money back on the blackjack table. The thought was fleeting and I drove on.

East of Reno, I-80 goes through the Nightingale Mountains, the Trinity Range, the Humboldt Range, and then into Winnemucca, NV. I pulled over into a Flying J Truck Plaza in Winnemucca to spend the night. As I climbed out of the driver’s seat, I realized that it was cold and I didn’t know how to run the heater. After I laid in bed shivering for a while, I got up and put on an extra sweatshirt and a pair of socks. The extra clothes helped for a while, but around 2:30 or 3:00 am I decided it was time to learn how to use the furnace.

When I headed back out the next morning, the time & temperature sign said it was 24 degrees. No wonder I was cold. At least I got some sleep. The day was bright and sunny, and I was ready to keep heading east.

When Nevada gave way to Utah, the landscape turned from scrub brush to salt flats. As I drove along, I noticed that people had stopped along the road to leave messages in the soft salt. “MB + TT.” “I Love You Marie.” “Go Demons.” “We Miss You Tim.”

It started snowing in Salt Lake City and got heavier as I drove east past Park City. The snow wasn’t sticking on the road and it just added to the beauty of the Utah landscape.

In Wyoming I had my first mishap of the trip. A construction truck drove past me and dropped a rock off of its trailer and right into my windshield. The RV has two windshields (one on each side split down the middle) and each windshield costs about $1,800. Thankfully, Kim made sure that we had insurance before we bought the RV, so our only money out of pocket will be our $100 deductible.

As I drove through the Rocky Mountains the snow got heavier and the road became icy between Laramie and Cheyenne. By the time I reached Cheyenne, I was ready to get some sleep. I pulled into Little America in Cheyenne, but there was nowhere to park. Next, I tried Flying J, but they were already full. Across the street was a McDonalds with a semi truck parking lot. I got one of the last available spaces.

Before going to bed, I figured out how to turn on both furnaces. It was so easy I don’t know why I couldn’t figure it out the night before. With the RV nice and warm, I slept until about 5:00 the next morning.

I had great weather the rest of the way home. Near Des Moines I smelled something burning and eventually found out that the shade on one of the lights had fallen, turning on the light and burning the shade as it rested against the light bulb.

On I-90 in Minnesota, the road was so rough that it loosened up the left outside rearview mirror. For the last 1 ½ hours of my trip, I couldn’t tell if anyone was driving on my left. Thankfully, it didn’t cause any problems.

Overall, I had a great trip. The RV ran great and after a shaky start, I became very comfortable driving it.

Now that I’m home, there is a ton of work to do. We are going to have to replace the carpet in the RV and have the seats, ceiling, walls and window treatments cleaned. We also still have a lot of stuff to move out of the house and we need to take care of other things like getting a P.O. Box, getting new cell phones, etc. We’re supposed to leave in just 25 days. Time is really flying.

Fixer-Uppper in Need of TLC

2007-10-24T09:04:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I flew to San Francisco and met up with my friend Brett and his girlfriend Cynthia. After they picked me up at the airport, we went for dinner at The Fish House in San Mateo. It was a good start to my first-ever visit to California.

On the way to the restaurant, someone cut Brett off in traffic. Brett laid on the horn and as we drove by the other vehicle, Cynthia shot them a nasty look. Brett commented that he was surprised Cynthia didn’t flip them off. So much for the laid back, mellow Californians I had expected.

On Saturday we headed up to Willits to pick up the RV. We got there a little early so we had lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall called Chad’s Fish & Chips. The restaurant was a bit of a dive, but the food was really good. The breaded Icelandic Cod in particular was good.

That was the end of the good news for a while. When we got to the place where the RV was, we were greeted by a scene out of the back roads of Appalachia. The house sat on a hill with an unkempt yard surrounded by a cyclone fence. Toys and debris were scattered haphazardly around the yard. There was a pick up truck in the driveway that was parked behind an apparently broken down car that was serving as storage for boxes and more debris. This was not a good sign.

Parked next to the pickup and storage vehicle was the RV. One of the owner’s nine kids was on the roof of the RV cleaning it. Actually, he was mostly just getting it wet. There wasn’t much cleaning going on.

The RV was dirty, but the exterior was in fairly good shape. I didn’t see any rust or dents, although there were some minor scrapes in a couple of places. The exterior graphics were also cracked and a bit faded from the sun, but that was to be expected. The tires were in good (not great) shape, with fairly good tread and no noticeable dry rotting. Overall, not bad for an eight-year-old RV.

Then I walked into the interior of the RV and my heart sank. The first thing that hit me was the cigarette and dog urine smell. Nasty. Then I saw the stained carpet, the dirty upholstery, and the crumbs and cobwebs in every nook and cranny. This was not what I had bargained for.

As I inspected the RV and checked out all of the systems, my mind was reeling. I had expected some wear and tear, but I didn’t think the RV would be so filthy dirty on the inside. My first reaction was to walk away from the sale, but then I remembered that we were only paying about 50% of the book value. Rather than being disappointed, I thought to myself, maybe I should look at it like I was buying a fixer-upper house. Sure, it needed some new carpet and an extremely good cleaning, but those things are relatively inexpensive. It would be like adding paint and landscaping to a fixer-upper.

Of course, the big difference between a fixer-upper house and the RV is that the RV has an engine and transmission. Thankfully, most of the abuse the RV had suffered occurred while it was sitting still. It had fewer than 18,000 miles on it (less than I had been told), so my hope was that the engine and drivetrain would be in good shape.

The test drive went well. The engine sounded good, ran strong, and the transmission shifted just like it should. And for a 36 foot behemoth, it handled fairly well.

After I decided to go forward with the sale, we did the paperwork and I got out on the road as quickly as possible. I wanted to put Willits and the former owners of the RV in my rearview mirror as fast as I could.

Next time, the 2200 miles journey from California to Wisconsin.

Time Waits For No Man

2007-10-17T08:59:00.000-05:00

The clock is ticking and I’m getting nervous. There are a thousand things to do and there are only 37 days until Thanksgiving. Uff-da . . .

I made a list yesterday of all of the things that we need to do to be able to leave by Thanksgiving (the truth is that I’m trying to get on the road by November 19). There is an entire page of things that need to be done. I know it can be done. In fact, I’m certain that it all will get done. It just makes me nervous.

I'm flying out to San Francisco on Friday. I'll be picking up the RV in Willits, CA on Saturday and will start the long drive back. I'm hoping that everything is working and the RV is ready to go when I get there on Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed. If everything works out, I should be home by Monday of next week.

I'll try to include a photo of our new home when I get back from California.

The United States is Really Big

2007-10-13T23:41:00.000-05:00

I’ve been working on our itinerary and I’ve learned one thing: this is a really big country. Initially, I had planned on driving all over the country and seeing anything and everything. However, time is too short and the country’s too big.

So what are we going to miss? For one thing, we’re not going to be able to make it to the northeast. All of the great spots like Boston, New York, Washington, DC. Worst of all, we won’t be able to make it to Cooperstown.

We’re also going to miss most of the Atlantic Coast. That means we’ll miss Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

At first I was upset about what we were going to miss, but then it dawned on me that there is an awful lot we are going to get to see and experience. We’re going to get to see a lot of Florida over 7-8 weeks. We’ll be in Texas for five weeks, Arizona for three weeks and California for four weeks. We’re going to be staying in Yosemite, Glacier, Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone National Parks. We’re going to see parts of the country that we’ve never seen before.

I guess it’s all in your perspective. You can either focus on the positive or you can focus on the negative. I’m usually a glass-is-half-full kind of guy. In that spirit, I’m going to focus on all of the great places we’re going to see. It’s going to be a great trip.

Houston, We Have An RV

2007-10-12T10:26:00.000-05:00

Just when you think things aren’t going to work out, they end up working out.

In my previous post, I was lamenting the fact that we hadn’t been able to buy an RV on EBay and that there weren’t any RVs coming up that really excited us. There was one RV that we liked, but the owner had started the bidding higher than we wanted to go. After several days, no one had bid on the RV, so I sent an email to the owner offering less than his opening bid. I didn’t think he would take it, but I figured there was no harm in making the offer.

The owner of the RV wrote back to me saying that the low book value on the RV is $41,000 and asked if I had a better offer. I responded by saying that my offer was all we had to spend, but I wished him luck with the auction. Surprisingly, the owner responded and asked if I would be willing to call him to discuss my offer. As it turned out, nobody bid on his RV and he accepted my offer.

The RV is a 1999 Fleetwood Bounder with a Ford V10 engine and 22,000 miles. We’re excited about our new RV. The one problem is that it is located in Willits, CA, about 175 miles north of San Francisco. I’m planning on going out there next week and then I’ll be driving it back the 2700 plus miles to Viroqua.

Buying the RV is just the start of a lot of things that need to be done. As of today we only have 42 days until Thanksgiving and the beginning of our adventure. In the immortal words of the “Bandit,” we’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. It’s time to get busy.

No RV Yet

2007-10-10T22:26:00.000-05:00

We were 0-3 on the RV front today. The first RV of the day got too expensive before we even bid on it. We bid on the second RV and were the high bidder right up until two-and-a-half minutes left to go in the auction. Unfortunately, we got beat right at the buzzer, so at that point we were 0-2.

I had high hopes for the third RV, but things didn’t work out too well with that one either. I was getting ready to bid when the bidding suddenly jumped up above our budget. Oh well, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.

So where does that leave us? There are a couple of more RVs coming up on EBay over the next few days, but the only one we are really interested in isn’t up until next Monday. In the meantime, I’ve tracked down three RVs for sale off of EBay. The first is at a dealership in Michigan, the second is being sold by a private party in Indiana, and the third is at a dealership in Montana. I’ll be following up on all three to find out more.

Finding an RV has turned into more of a job than I thought it would be. I’m anxious to get one so we are set to leave on time and so I can concentrate on other things, but I also don’t want to make a mistake and overpay for an RV. The search continues. . .

It's Getting Cold

2007-10-09T20:34:00.000-05:00

The Summer-like weather we had this passed weekend has given way to much cooler autumn temperatures. Daytime highs are forecast to be in the 50’s and overnight lows will be down in the 30’s. The changing weather is serving to accentuate the point that time is running out for us to get the RV and to hit the road.

There are three RVs coming up on EBay tomorrow that we are interested in AND are currently in our price range. That doesn’t mean the bids will stay in our price range, but as of now they are. I’m starting to get a little nervous that we are planning on being out of our house by Thanksgiving, but we still don’t have the RV that we will be calling home. Tomorrow might be the day we get our new home.

Kim has narrowed down her choices for homeschooling curriculum, but still has a couple of things she needs to check in to. Kim’s friend Amy, a former school teacher, is helping her to decide on the best curriculum for Shelby and Lou.

Our itinerary is in the rough draft phase. I initially made the mistake of having us visiting some areas before the snow has melted and roads have reopened. I’ve made some changes to avoid this, but there are still a few things that need to be tweaked before the schedule becomes final (subject to spur of the moment changes).

Tomorrow is going to be a big day. I’ll let you know what happens.

Ferris Bueller Day

2007-10-07T16:44:00.000-05:00

Happy Ferris Bueller Day!

Today is the 10th anniversary of the day that became known as Ferris Bueller Day. On October 7, 1997 I went to an outpatient clinic in Melbourne, Florida to have routine sinus surgery. As it turned out, the surgery was anything but routine. The morning after the surgery I had a fever of 105 degrees and I had to be rushed to the hospital. It turned out that I had toxic shock syndrome and I spent the next six days in intensive care where the doctors had a horrible time trying to get my blood pressure stabilized.

In the end, the story has a happy ending. I recovered just fine and now every October 7th I do something to remember just how lucky I was (and am). This year, Kim, Shelby, Lou, Shelby’s friend Sierra and I went for a hike in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve in LaFarge, WI. The KVR is a great wilderness area with an interesting history. We went for a short hike (about 2 miles) on the Dam Tower trail loop. We are having unusually hot and humid weather for October (it was 82 degrees today), so the bugs were pretty bad. Even so, it was good to get out and enjoy nature.

The time away also took me away from my computer and away from my search for an RV. We are tracking several RVs on Ebay right now. It probably isn’t the best way to shop for an RV, but the honest truth is that with what we have budgeted for the RV, we are going to need to get a really good deal. We looked at dealerships first, but of course they are asking top dollar for the rigs on their lot. I’ve purchased two other vehicles on Ebay in the past and both vehicles turned out to be good vehicles, so I’m confident we’ll find what we’re looking for this time.

If everything works out the way I hope it works out, we’ll purchase an RV in the next couple of days. Stay tuned.

And So the Journey Begins. . .

2007-10-06T21:40:00.000-05:00

It started out as a rather harmless, innocent idea. Wouldn't it be cool to pack up the whole family in an RV and travel around the country? Sure it would be cool, but how could anyone actually do it? With jobs and schools and homes and budgets, how could you actually pull it off? Well, I think we've figured it out.

Thankfully, we own our own business and we have great people who work for us. It doesn't say much for me I guess, but the office does fine without me there. They'll miss Kim, but Roger and Shirley can hold down the fort without either of us being present. We're considering hiring another person, but for now, we're going to have to play things by ear.

How are we going to school the kids? Thankfully, homeschooling is becoming more and more popular and there are a ton of curriculum choices to choose from. We've done our research and we're convinced that both Shelby and Lou will do fine with homeschooling. Plus, the plan is to stay on the road for only 7 - 9 months, so the kids will be back in regular school next year.

What about our home? Other than the RV, we won't have a home. Wherever we are at the moment will be our home. It's going to be a big change, but I have no doubt that in time we'll adjust.

Next, what about the budget? That's our biggest question mark. We think we're going to be just fine, but who knows for sure what kind of expenses (expected and otherwise) we'll run into on the road? It's a little scary, but it also makes the entire adventure more interesting.

Finally, why would anyone want to give up their home to travel around the country in a big metal box? I suppose that everyone who has ever contemplated such an adventure has their own reasons. For us, there are four main reasons.

First, it has been a desire of ours for some time to experience the freedom that comes with being on the road. I love road trips. I love being on the road. Unfortunately, most road trips consist of traveling from point A to point B as quickly and painlessly as possible. We're going to travel from point A to point B (and then point C, point D, etc), but we're going to enjoy the journey between the points just as much as the points themselves.

Second, the kids are at the right age to do this. At 12 and 7, the kids are still young enough to adjust to life on the road, but old enough to appreciate the things we are going to do and see. If we don't do this now, we may never get the chance again.

Third, the trip itself will be educational for both the kids and for Kim and me. In school, the kids learn about different places and historical events from around the country. We'd like them to actually get a chance to see and experience these places. For Kim and me, we've been fortunate to live in several different places around the country, but there's so much more that we haven't seen. Our great big road trip will give us all a chance to see parts of the country that we otherwise may never see.

Finally, as a family, we've gone through a lot of struggles over the past four years. It started in December 2003 when I was diagnosed with cancer. Because of that, 2004 and the beginning of 2005 was probably the toughest time any of us have gone through. In 2006 one of our businesses failed (not our main business, thankfully). We've had a few other challeges over the last couple of years as well. We could seriously use a little time away to recharge our batteries.

So how is all of this going to come together? Our goal is to be on the road by Thanksgiving. That's only about 54 days from now. During that time, we need to purchase an RV, pack all of our stuff, move all of our stuff into storage, change our address, arrange for our mail to be forwarded, set an itinerary, make reservations at campgrounds, and a bunch of other stuff. It's going to be a busy (and exciting) time.

In the immortal words of Jack Kerouac, "the road is life." We'll be following in Kerouac's footsteps to see how much life is out there. It should be a great ride.