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!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Review: Sir Pizza
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.
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.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Hot Off The Presses: Column #2
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.
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
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.
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.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Seeking Refuge in Florida
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…).
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
What's In A Name?
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.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Stones River National Battlefield
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.
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.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Today Was a Good Day
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
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…
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…
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Jonell Mosser in Concert
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!
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!
Friday, December 7, 2007
If It Weren't For Bad Luck. . .
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!
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
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.
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.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
More Problems
Last night was kind of a sleepless night. Our electric stopped working which affected the way the furnaces (we have two) were working. The coach batteries handled the load for a while, but they eventually drained down to where they weren’t working either. I had to get up a couple of times during the night to start the RV to charge the batteries and get the furnaces working right again.
As best I can figure, the electric went off in the park last night. I checked all of our connections and they were all fine. Then, without doing anything, the electric (and the furnaces) were working just fine this morning.
Another problem I hadn’t reported on previously was that the refrigerator wouldn’t work on propane. We’re trying to run it using electric now. The refrigerators in RVs are not especially effective, so we probably won’t know until tomorrow if it is cooling using electric.
Kim and the kids are back at the RV doing school stuff. I’m sitting in a Panera Bread writing this post, but once again, I’m unable to connect to the wi-fi network. It really is crazy that our network is so secure that you can’t log on from any public place. I’ve tried to log on at hotels and several different restaurants and coffee shops, but I’m never able to get a connection.
I’ve called our support people, but the best they’ve been able to do is have me re-boot the computer. When that doesn’t work, they tell me that I need to talk to the wi-fi administrator wherever I am to have them manually force me on to their network. Of course, the people at the wi-fi location don’t know the first thing about their wi-fi network.
Today, someone from our corporate headquarters called me to try to figure out the problem. Her advice was the same as everyone else’s. However, she is going to call the company that provides our Hot Spot Enabler (which is supposed to help us log on to wi-fi networks) to see if they can help. If you are reading this, I guess they helped (or I figured some other way to post this).
Until then, I need to head back to the RV to get the family so we can start our day’s activities.
UPDATE: The problem wasn’t with the electric in the park. Our converter stopped working and our coach batteries were draining. Now, we can use the electric in the motorhome, but we have to start the engine every once in a while to charge the batteries. Oh well, not that big of a deal, but a new converter costs about $250. Just add it to the list of things we have to get done once we hit Florida.
As best I can figure, the electric went off in the park last night. I checked all of our connections and they were all fine. Then, without doing anything, the electric (and the furnaces) were working just fine this morning.
Another problem I hadn’t reported on previously was that the refrigerator wouldn’t work on propane. We’re trying to run it using electric now. The refrigerators in RVs are not especially effective, so we probably won’t know until tomorrow if it is cooling using electric.
Kim and the kids are back at the RV doing school stuff. I’m sitting in a Panera Bread writing this post, but once again, I’m unable to connect to the wi-fi network. It really is crazy that our network is so secure that you can’t log on from any public place. I’ve tried to log on at hotels and several different restaurants and coffee shops, but I’m never able to get a connection.
I’ve called our support people, but the best they’ve been able to do is have me re-boot the computer. When that doesn’t work, they tell me that I need to talk to the wi-fi administrator wherever I am to have them manually force me on to their network. Of course, the people at the wi-fi location don’t know the first thing about their wi-fi network.
Today, someone from our corporate headquarters called me to try to figure out the problem. Her advice was the same as everyone else’s. However, she is going to call the company that provides our Hot Spot Enabler (which is supposed to help us log on to wi-fi networks) to see if they can help. If you are reading this, I guess they helped (or I figured some other way to post this).
Until then, I need to head back to the RV to get the family so we can start our day’s activities.
UPDATE: The problem wasn’t with the electric in the park. Our converter stopped working and our coach batteries were draining. Now, we can use the electric in the motorhome, but we have to start the engine every once in a while to charge the batteries. Oh well, not that big of a deal, but a new converter costs about $250. Just add it to the list of things we have to get done once we hit Florida.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Trip Into Nashville
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
If At First You Don't Succeed. . .
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.
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.
Monday, December 3, 2007
D(eparture)-Day
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.
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!
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.
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.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Trapped!
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.
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.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Two More Days of Delays
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.
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.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
We Did It!
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 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).
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
We're Not Done Yet
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. . .
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
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
We're Getting Close
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).
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
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?
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?
Monday, November 26, 2007
Review: Opie's Sports Bar & Grill
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.
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
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.
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.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Time To Get Back To Work
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.
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.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
We're Back
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
An Unintended Day Off
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.
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.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Another Day, Another Delay
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.
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.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
A Day of Rest
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.
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.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Another Busy Day
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?
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?
Friday, November 16, 2007
A Very Long Day
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. . .
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. . .
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Another Untimely Death
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
A Big Decision
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Of Tow Dollies and Untimely Deaths
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.
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.
Monday, November 12, 2007
What's Love Got To Do With It?
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.
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.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Our Itinerary (Part 1)
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 . . .
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 . . .
Thursday, November 8, 2007
No Rest For The Wicked
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The Painting is Done
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
What A Difference A Day Makes
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 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. . .
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
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.
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.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Carpet Removal is Done
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!
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!
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Review: Great River Roadhouse
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.
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.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Removing Carpet is Hard to Do
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.
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.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Demolition Man
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.
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.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Review: Mabe's Pizza
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.
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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.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The Big Rolling Turd (and other news)
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.
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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.
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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.
**********
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.
**********
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.
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