Sunday, April 28 was Dick’s birthday. Although we
preferred to have sunshine for his celebration day, we had to put up with off
and on showers and a very grey day. I spent part of the day with my good friend
Shirley, while we shopped WalMart and Sam’s Club. Working full-time gives her
very little time for domestic errands. Shirley and Marvin, Jeri and Randy, and
I surprised Dick with a birthday dinner of barbecued pork steaks, Brussels
sprouts, salad and pineapple cake. Afterwards, we played yet another game of Pegs and Jokers, and
they presented Dick with a game of his own—so we could practice over the next
few months until we’re together again. What wonderful friends; we’ll miss them.
Oh, Dick wanted me to be sure to say that “men rule.” (They won the games that
night.)
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| L to R: Laurie, Marvin, me, Randy, Shirley, Leroy and Jeri (Dick is taking the photo) |
Monday the new parts for the awning cover over the dining
room slide arrived, so John and Rob (from Kamper’s Supply) got it installed.
This will help to keep debris from the top of the slide, and prevent water from
pooling on top of it, too. Dick replaced a bolt on the motorcycle rack, helping
to keep the hitch secure and level. Our friend Shirley let us use her washer
and dryer to do a couple loads of laundry, so that’s done until we get to
Cloquet next week. (We are so fortunate to have met Marvin and Shirley in
Texas; we’ve become like, and we are so thankful for them.)
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| John and Rob installing the slide topper over the dining room. |
Dick helped trim trees and bushes. He also helped with
some computer issues. They’re expecting a new sign to be delivered and set up
on Wednesday, so the lawns around the existing sign and store were mowed, and
Dick did some “weed eating” where needed. It was a partly cloudy day, and very
humid. Temperatures reached the mid-80s, with humidity just as high. Ugh.
That evening we visited Jeri and Randy’s barn, where they store their King of the Road 5th wheel and Freightliner Sport chassis, as well as other “toys” and Jeri’s studio. (Jeri is a very accomplished artist, working in acrylics, stained glass, and other mediums.)
Rather than cooking, we all had dinner at Backyard Burgers—really good! Then…another game of Pegs and Jokers. Women ruled—at least that night…
That evening we visited Jeri and Randy’s barn, where they store their King of the Road 5th wheel and Freightliner Sport chassis, as well as other “toys” and Jeri’s studio. (Jeri is a very accomplished artist, working in acrylics, stained glass, and other mediums.)
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| Marvin and me next to Randy and Jeri's Freightliner, used to pull their King of the Road 5th wheel. |
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| Randy and Jeri's King of the Road 5th wheel, showing 3 slides. |
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| Jeri's stained glass, in the door of the 5th wheel. Beautiful! |
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| Jeri's studio in their barn...all the comforts of home! |
Rather than cooking, we all had dinner at Backyard Burgers—really good! Then…another game of Pegs and Jokers. Women ruled—at least that night…
Tuesday, we helped them clean and restock their store for
the open house festivities. (They serve delicious barbecue all three days that
Randy prepares on his stainless steel cookers: pork butts are the words of the
day around there!) Dinner that night was a sit-down affair for 8 at O’Charlie’s.
We also did the final packing up for our departure on Wednesday.
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| Randy's stainless steel cooker. |
Wednesday the new sign for Kamper’s Supply arrived! It is
so cute, and perfect, and you can see from Marvin’s smile that he’s pleased. So
glad we were still there to see it go up.
By 12:45 we were on the road, after sad farewells, with
happier thoughts of seeing everyone in October on our way south to Texas. We
plan to have two more slide toppers installed then, over the living room and
bedroom. We can’t say enough about their integrity and quality of work. They’re
the best! We’re already looking forward to seeing the crew at Kamper’s Supply
again.
By 4:45 we had arrived in Springfield, Illinois, to
Cracker Barrel, where we would spend the night dry camping. We were a bit
concerned that it would be noisy due to the close proximity to the highway, but
we were able to sleep quite well.
Thursday was a great day for driving, as we headed for
New Windsor, Illinois and Shady Lakes RV Park where we will spend the next four
nights. It was a mostly sunny day, with temperatures in the 70s—at least to
start. By the time we arrived at the RV park the wind had started to blow, the
clouds thickened, and the temperature began to drop to the low-40s. It didn’t
take us long to change out of shorts and t-shirts into warmer clothes! And then,
the rain started…
And it rained, and rained, and rained, until late Friday night. Need I say that we stayed hunkered down in our trailer most of the day Friday, with the furnace running. We did make a run to the nearby WalMart in Galesburg for groceries and to the Post Office in Alpha.
By Saturday, the rain had subsided a bit, to just off and
on showers, but the temperature was still cold. It felt like we left the
furnace of Carterville and arrived at the freezer of New Windsor! It was a good
day for watching movies, knitting (me) and working with craft strip (Dick).
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| View east from our camper...dark skies... |
This RV park is quite nice, with established trees
between the sites, full hook-ups, four stocked lakes, playground for kids, swimming
pool, and a large recreation building. It appears that families spend weekends
here, as a lot of trailers are on site full-time, and there were quite a few
people here for just Friday through Sunday.
Thanks for joining us on our travels. We head for my mom’s
in Cloquet next week, to spend some time there while she continues to recover
from partial hip replacement. Next Thursday is a consultation with the doctors
and staff regarding her recovery and future plans. We ask for your prayers on
her behalf, that she would continue to heal and would be able to go home to her
familiar surroundings soon.
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| Go, Mom, go! |
Gail and Dick
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