Happy New Year 2014

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year 2014

 

 

This is our year coming up and we are very happy to welcome 2014. Glenda will be retiring on January 31st and start the process of getting the house ready to sell in April. My turn comes in October and then we hit the road. Just to give you some idea as to how happy we are. I got a call from Great Lakes RV last Friday and Mike our salesman told me that our Bighorn had been built and was at the dealership.

 

SURPRISE!!!!!!!

 

I was in shock. We were expecting a call to let us know when the build date would be NOT that the rig had already been built. So at first I wasn't too happy. We have a plan and we need to stick to the plan. That meant that the rig was not supposed to come in until early February. That way we could extend the financing out to April/May and use the equity in the house to just pay it off without making a payment. Well I fretted over the weekend and I called Mike back on Monday to see what we could do about the timeline. He had spoken to his boss and they were willing to hold the unit and we are to go over at the end of January and sign the papers and give them the rest of the down payment. Now I'm very happy.

 

Then Mike tells me that the washer/dryer did not get installed because we both missed it on the build sheet under the list of options. We wanted the washer/dryer installed at the factory since it was about $400 less to do it that way. Well, I put up a little stink(not happy) and Mike said that the dealership would have to wave(eat) the $400. I agreed. Fortunately the dealership actually installs more washer/dryers than the factory does. Only about 10% of units off the assembly line have washer/dryers installed. That means the dealership installs most after they are built. I felt a little better. Ok...Everyone was calmer now. We are very happy again. Mike said let me send you some pictures. He emailed five photos and a panoramic view of the kitchen living room. Here is our future home. We are truly excited now.

 

 Click on photos to make them larger

 Panoramic view

 

Kitchen/ living room

 

Back to front

 

Bedroom

 



TV/dresser/storage

 

2014 Bighorn 3585rl

 

So far everything is working out as planned even with the early arrival of our home. We will be at our daughter's home in Osceola, IN right down the road from the dealership for our family Christmas celebration but unfortunately we won't have the opportunity to see it in person. We will be back at the end of the month and the photos will have to do for now. And that's ok. That gives the dealership time to get everything installed, prepped and ready for us in the spring. Another nice thing is the dealership will store our rig until we can pick it up at the end of March as we begin the transfer process from one home to another. Yes this will be a happy new year. As the song goes... Our future's so bright we got to wear shades. Thank you to the followers that have been reading and commenting. You're encouragement and well wishes have been a great help as we continue on the path of our RV Dream. Working toward retirement and it won't be long.

 

 







Wishing you a Merry Christmas

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Looking forward to seeing family and enjoying the love, laughter and warm smiles.

If you are traveling, please be safe.(Of course you are, that's what full-timers do)

 

 

Luke 2:10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.



Anticipation

I looked up the definition of the word "Anticipation" in preparing to write this post and found the exact words that describe my feelings right now. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary gives this definition.

an·tic·i·pa·tion
 noun                                                

: a feeling of excitement about something that is going to happen

: the act of preparing for something

 

In my last post I stated that we had ordered our 5th wheel, the Heartland Bighorn 3585rl. Well now we traveled to Clinton, IL and placed our order for a 2014 Ford F-350 Super Cab Diesel Dually. I wrote a post back in October that outlined some of what we wanted in a tow vehicle and our ability to get a discounted X plan purchase. I was able to actually go on the X plan site and build exactly the vehicle I wanted. I took the build sheet to the dealer, the order was written and a deposit made. As I was building the truck I wasn't sure if I should order it with the 5th wheel hitch(Reese 25K) and the prep package with the hidden rails under the truck bed. I decided to get some quotes from after market dealers that sell and install 5th wheel hitches. Interestingly the quotes I got for the hitch and installation were the same for lesser weight hitches than what Ford was offering with the truck. So I added the hitch to the package. I also decided to get the 200 amp heavy duty alternator. In researching why I might want to do get the larger alternator I found out an automotive charging system is made up of three major components: the battery, the voltage regulator and an alternator. The alternator works with the battery to generate power for the electrical components of a vehicle, like the interior and exterior lights, and the instrument panel. An alternator gets its name from the term alternating current (AC).

 

After reading about alternators I decided to get the heavy duty alternator. It seemed to me that a large diesel engine would be better equipped if it had a greater ability to generate power to the battery and electrical components.

 

As I was building my truck another option available was a soft Tonneau cover that rolls up. I have a tri fold cover on my truck now and I know how well it protects the interior of the bed and the contents. The build site didn't actually tell me what brand the cover would be so I again did some research and came across the Truxedo brand soft cover. The cover I saw on the build site looked a lot like the Truxedo so I asked our salesperson, Stephani, if she had any information on the covers Ford uses. She was able to locate an after market options book that Ford dealers use and sure enough they sell Truxedo. She assured me that the Truxedo would be the brand so I ordered that with the truck too.

 

OK, I got off subject a little but I hope that by describing some of the details you can get some sense of our feelings ( I know those that are already full-timers do) now that we have the exact 5th wheel and truck that we think will work for us. We've ordered them both and now we have to WAIT. The truck and 5th wheel should arrive about the same time in mid February. The plan is to take delivery of the truck right away but will probably have the dealer store the 5th wheel a few weeks until the weather moderates some. So ANTICIPATION is now the word. That's right, we are in the  act of preparing for something and have a great excitement about something that is going to happen. Will the holidays keep our minds occupied long enough to get us through this time? We hope so. I guess we'll find out. Of course we keep working toward retirement and it won't be long. Thanks for reading.

 

P.S. - Glenda has only 5 more work weeks until she can say she is retired. January 31, 2014 She gets off 2 weeks for Christmas and New Years. (I think she'll make it.)

Thanksgiving, Aiden and Early Order

We're back home from our Thanksgiving trip to our daughter's house in Osceola, IN. We left Wednesday afternoon after picking up our turkey at Longhorn Smokehouse. Longhorn is a BBQ restaurant that also does catering so every year they take orders for cooking and smoking turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They not only cook and smoke the turkey but will also de-bone the turkey. The price is a little high but the convenience is well worth it. Once the turkey is cooked they place all the meat in a nice aluminum roaster pan for easy heating the next day.

We thought we might run into some winter weather over by our daughters house since they predicted some lake effect snow however the Interstate and Toll Road was clear and it was a pretty uneventful trip. There was some snow but only in town on the city streets. Once we got there we got unloaded and hung out talking until after midnight.

Thanksgiving Day
We got up around 8:30am and I decided we needed to make some pancakes. For some reason I was hungry for pancakes. We got out the griddle and everyone enjoyed the feast with some orange juice, milk and of course real maple syrup. Once breakfast was over we got started on the Thanksgiving meal preparations. The guys also had to watch the football games that were on too.

Heather, Paul and Aiden were supposed to come from Chicago but Aiden had croop(a cold) and they didn't think it was wise to get him out. So we certainly missed them but planned to go by and visit them on our way home on Saturday.

The dinner was  great with our turkey, mashed potatoes, noodles, corn, Jell-O and pumpkin pie for dessert. Everyone was stuffed to the gills. After some naps and more football we snacked off and on the rest of the evening.

Friday
We slept late and Sommer had to go into work for a while so after we all got ready(more on that later, think early order) we decided to go get lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Of course it was very busy but we found a seat and enjoyed our meal.

Todd decided to go look for a new computer so Glenda and I took the kids except for Caden and Jasmyne to the mall to watch the crazy people. After we fought through the traffic we took a walk through the mall and were not disappointed at the sight.

We took the kids to the local frozen yogurt shop and enjoyed an afternoon snack then headed home to relax. Sommer was home from work so we played some card games and a dice game called CLR(Center, Left, Right). It's a fast moving game and you never know how it well end. We again stayed up way too late watching a movie.

Saturday
We had to get up a little earlier since we were going to be leaving today. We wanted to get on the road by 11am so we could spend some time with Heather, Paul and Aiden. We had breakfast,( early order), got packed up, said our goodbyes with kisses and hugs. Then off Glenda and I went to see Aiden.

We got to Chicago(actually Streamwood) around 1:30 and called Heather to see if they wanted us to stop and get some lunch to bring with us. We decided on Portillo's and went through the drive through lane. I got the Italian Beef with Mozzarella and sweet peppers, Paul wanted two hotdogs, Glenda got a fish sandwich and Heather got a chopped salad.

When we got there Aiden was napping so we were able to have our lunch before he got up. Once we woke up he had a bottle and then we watched him play. He is such a happy little boy.

Fortunately he was feeling better. We can't believe he will be 9 months old next week. He has changed so much just sine we saw him a month ago. He's beginning to stand a little and rolls all over the place. We had a great time playing.

Paul is a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan so of course Aiden will be too. So Paul gave him a funny hat to wear but just as I took the picture he got it turned around sideways. We all got a good laugh watching him try to get the hat off. Finally he did. Aiden was getting hungry again so Heather fed him some veggies.

She likes to give him a spoon to play with as she feeds him. I think he will get the hang of feeding himself soon.

We had a great visit but it was getting dark and we needed to get home to get things ready for a small After Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday with my brother, his ex wife, their two boys(Logan and Parker) and my Dad. We said our goodbyes with the usually kisses and hugs. The trip home was uneventful.

Early Order
Your probably wondering about the title and the Early Order. Well on Friday while we were in Osceola at our daughters I thought I would give the salesman a Great Lakes RV in Elkhart a call to see if he was working. Glenda had not actually seen the Bighorn 3585rl that we wanted to purchase. She had only seen photos and online video so I called and Mike was at work and he said to stop on by so we did. We were able to look at a Big Country by Heartland that had a similar décor and floorplan as the 3585rl. Glenda really liked the layout and the upgrades. We looked a Landmark also but it is another step above what we can afford. It was great to look since the Bighorn will have a a few of the same features as the Landmark.

We went inside and talked a little more about the options we would like and got an updated price sheet. We found out that the dealer show was going on soon and there would be some changes to the options and most likely a price increase but we were looking at ordering our Bighorn in February next year. We had to leave since everyone at home was getting hungry and wanted to go to Chick-Fil-A. We left and did our planned activities of lunch and the mall. After we got home we talked about the Bighorn and what Mike had said. We also talked about the price and the discount he was quoting us. So I texted Mike Friday evening and asked if he was going to be working Saturday and if he would be willing to consider taking an additional 2% off the quote he gave us. If he was willing we would meet him at 9 am on  Saturday morning and place the order.

Well I got a text back about 5 mins later and he said he could do that and would be happy to meet the next morning. SOOOOOOO, we placed the order and worked it out so we would not have to make any payment until April next year. The plan is to pay off the 5th wheel in April but by applying for a loan we can extend out the payment situation so we will end up not making a payment and give us time to get the house ready and on the market in the spring.

 

 

If you are interesting in some photos of what the exterior and interior will be like you can find it HERE. These photos are with the buckskin interior but we ordered the Remington which is a darker color leather sofa  and recliners. Everything else in the photos is about what we will be getting.

 

The exterior has the new Bighorn Ram head on the front, we got the MCD roller shades, frameless windows, Yeti package and Glenda wanted the stackable washer/dryer so it would be factory installed. There is no second awning on the slide like in the photo link. We also got the 6 point leveling system and I got the upgraded 8,000 lb. axles with a new option(DISC BRAKES). I also got the G rated tires. Yes we spent a little more than we were planning on but we figured this is going to be our home and we should get the options we really think we will want and need instead of aftermarket. Maybe it's wrong but we feel pretty good about our decision. That's the early order. We weren't planning on doing this but we also thought why make an additional trip back when we could work this out now. We are now committed to this adventure. Next week we plan to order the truck. We thought we would be getting the truck first so now with this move we really need to get that truck ordered so we have everything in place when the Bighorn comes in. Very nervous but very excited too. After the holidays we begin the house prep, Glenda retires at the end of January and the work begins in earnest. Still feels like a dream but getting more real everyday. We keep working toward retirement and it won't be long. Seriously. Thanks for reading.

Camper Sold

As you know I have been trying to sell our travel trailer. I first placed an ad on our company classifieds page and didn't get much interest. Of course the exposure was very limited. So I then placed an ad on Craigslist in our local area. I got a few inquires and even had someone come look at the trailer and then bring his wife to look but never heard back. I was pretty discouraged. I actually got more bot emails that said things like "I read your ad and I know this sounds strange but you sound like someone I would like to get to know. If you are real send me an email and we can get together". Pretty disgusting. So last week I was about to take the ad off Craigslist and then I got an email that asked if I still had the camper and their phone number was in the message. I decided I would just call them instead of emailing back and forth. Kind of "get the bad news right away" type of thing. I called and to my surprise Jim and Marilyn wanted to see the camper that afternoon. We set a time and I gave them directions to the storage facility. We met and started the walk through so they could check things out. They were pleasantly surprised at the condition of our camper. It appears they had been looking at some used trailers and were not impressed. As we talked I found out that Jim and I both had Harley Davidson motorcycles off and on for years. Jim and Marilyn have grandchildren like we do. They are retired and are looking to get back into camping like they had a few years ago. They don't have a Super Duty truck so our smaller trailer would work great for them and they would be able to tow it with their truck. Anyway, they looked at each other and said the magic words. WE'LL TAKE IT. I couldn't believe my ears. Jim then said if you will deliver it to my house I will give you what you are asking, no negotiations. I said, What's your address? We exchanged information and I told them it would take a couple of days to get the title since I still owed some money on the camper at our company credit union. So over the next few days I was able to get the loan paid off and secure the title. I called Jim and Marilyn and asked if I could deliver the camper today and they agreed. Glenda decided to take some time off work to go with me so around 2 pm we hitched up the camper and drove down to Decatur, IL. I pulled up in front of their house and noticed a long side driveway next to the house. Jim came out and asked if I would back in around the curved driveway to the back yard and park it in front of the detached garage. Well I summoned my backing skills and made it with only a couple of corrections in direction. I unhitched and went over as much of the workings of the camper with Jim while Marilyn and Glenda went inside to stay warm. After about 30-40 minutes Jim felt comfortable with the camper workings and we went inside to sign the title over and get our check. After talking a little longer we headed home and celebrated with dinner at McDonald's. It is such a relief to have the camper sold and to know that a couple of very nice folks will enjoy the camper as much as we have. Now we get ready to order the truck and then after the first of the year comes the 5th wheel. It still feels so far away but it's beginning to feel more real. We keep working toward retirement and it won't be long.

Last Outing of the Season

In my last post I mentioned we had been to our favorite campground, Bo Wood COE at Lake Shelbyville on the final weekend of the season the last 2 years. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to make it 3 in a row. Glenda was able to get off work about an hour early on Friday so we were able to get on the road sooner than normal. IT really helped too since the sun is setting sooner in the evening. I had loaded up some firewood in the afternoon because we knew it was going to get cool/cold at night. We headed out and had a smooth trip to the campground. When we got there we found out that we would have to vacate the campsite sooner than normal(12 noon instead of 4 pm) because it has the most campsites  and they wanted to get them cleaned up for the winter. The smaller side of the campground was going to stay open until the first weekend in December. We tried to get a spot on that side but someone had gotten there about 15 minutes sooner and took the last one. However we did decide to take a different spot on a more wooded loop.

Once we got to our site we noticed that the only other camper on the loop was a motorhome. So we parked way in the back of the loop for some privacy.

Hard to see us in the back(click on pic to enlarge)

I zoomed in

 

 

Of course we brought some chili for dinner and heated it up with some crackers and a little cheese on top. It was delicious. After dinner I hurried outside and got a fire started.

 

We sat by the warmth of the fire and listened to the radio on the outdoor speakers. It was very peaceful and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The stars were out in full force. As the fire burned down we headed inside to watch some TV and I played some games on the my smartphone.

We had the small electric heater on so it kept the trailer comfortable. So comfortable in fact that we ended up sleeping until 9am on Saturday morning. We like to sleep a little later on the weekend but that was later than expected. I guess we were just too cozy under out micro fleece sheets. Once we got up we had out oatmeal and juice and got ready to take a trip into Arthur, IL for some supplies and check out the Amish Market. We got our supplies at the Dollar General and noticed that there was a larger than normal number of buggies in front of the store.

 

 

Then we headed to the Amish Market were they have bake goods, ice cream, fudge, produce, meats, and assorted candy and snacks. 

 

 

After perusing the goods we ended up getting some veggie chips and a small loaf of pumpkin bread.

 

By that time we were getting hungry again so we checked out a small BBQ restaurant in town called

 



I had the brisket special with Hobo potatoes and Cole slaw with cornbread and Glenda had the Salmon burger with a salad. I know I enjoyed my food more than Glenda did. The meat was firm but tender and had that great smoked flavor. The BBQ sauce was spicy but not overpowering. The only downside of the meal was it took about 1 hour to get our food. It was busy and the wait staff was doing the best they could but that is a little long to wait even for good food. I was definitely stuffed after that meal and ready to head back to the campground and take a walk to work off some of my meal. So that is what we did. The wind had picked up a little in the afternoon but most of the loops we walked were pretty well sheltered. Of the 136 campsites in the whole campground only about 24-26 sites were occupied. I guess with the government shutdown earlier and the cool weather people decided to either put the camper away early or just stay home. Either way we had most of the campground to ourselves. I got another fire started in preparation for the evening. As I was stoking the fire and enjoying the flames I got out my phone and took some photos with different settings.

 

Solarized setting

Negative setting

 

 

It was fun playing with the settings and giving the photos some different feel.  Along with that I talked Glenda into a Selfie photo of ourselves. You can see it was getting a little cold and we were bundled up.

 

 

 

 

You have to understand getting Glenda to let me take a photo of her is a rare feat. She doesn't like how she looks in pictures but I think she's beautiful. We won't have any problem being together 24/7.

 

After a while we went inside and had some leftover chili for dinner and hurried back out to enjoy the fire. Once it started to die down we went in for some TV. Again it felt good to get under the sheets and get cozy. We woke up earlier on Sunday morning since we had to be out by noon. I took the truck into Sullivan and filled the tank and got some coffee for me and diet coke for Glenda. When I got back we had our oatmeal and juice. Glenda got a shower and I started getting the outside ready so we could hitch up at the last minute. We took a short walk and talked to a couple that had just purchased a pop up and were out for the maiden voyage. Our first camper had a canvas bunk out and it would get pretty cold in the fall but to have all four walls canvas is more than I would want. They said they had two heaters going all night. I'm sure they did.

 

Well before we had to hitch up I took a few more photos of some of the sites in our loop.

 

The sites are nicely spaced

Many are long and wide just right for a big rig

 

 

Right behind our site was a short path down to the lake with a nice bench to sit and enjoy the scenery. I took some shots from different angles of our site and the lake.

 

It's easy to see why we enjoy coming to this campground and being a COE and me having my Senior Pass the full hook ups are $12/night.(I know I've mentioned that before but is worth saying again) Well it was getting late and we needed to get out of our site so Glenda cleaned up the inside and I got the trailer hitched up and we left our site right at noon. Nothing like getting your monies worth. We decided that since we couldn't stay on our site past noon and we weren't really ready to leave we would drive down by the boat launch ramp and park in the parking lot for a while and enjoy our last weekend out for the season. We parked and got out some chicken salad and crackers and had a quick mini lunch. Then we explored the park area by the boat launch.

Our last Selfie of the season

 

 

After about an hour of watching folks launch and pull boats out of the water we headed for home. We made it home in good time and started to take our clothes, food stuffs and most interior items out. We will be back this next weekend to get the rest of the things we don't want to keep in the trailer over the winter. I plan to winterize the water system on Friday and take the trailer to the truck wash before we put the RV cover on. Remove the battery, get it charged up and on the battery tender. I've had the trailer for sale on Craigslist but not much happening this time of year. Hope to sell in the spring before it's time to pick up the new 5th wheel. Trade in value is not much of anything but we may have no choice if it doesn't sell. Retirement is getting closer and the truck will be ordered soon then on through the winter and place the 5th wheel order around Feb next year. If everything goes as planned the house will sell  and we will move into the rig sometime in April-May next year. Bittersweet feeling being the last time we will camp in the trailer but looking forward to the future. I do have the Hitch Itch that Rick and Kathy of It's about Time commented on a couple of posts back. All I can say to that is we're working toward retirement and it won't be long. Thanks everyone. 







Visiting Aiden

Our son-in-law, Paul, Was going to be out of town for the weekend so our daughter, Heather, asked us to come and stay over the weekend and keep her and Aiden company. Well that was all we needed to pack our clothes and drive to their home. We arrived on Saturday around noon and Aiden was just getting up from a short morning nap. We decided to get some lunch so we bundled Aiden up and drove to Portillo's Italian Beef Restaurant in Glendale Heights on North Ave. They have the best Italian Beef and Hotdogs in America. At least by my standards. After lunch we needed to drive downtown Chicago so Heather could pick up her race packet for the Monster Dash 5k race on Sunday.

 

 

Traffic was pretty good going downtown but got a little slow on the way back out. Aiden was getting a little antsy on the way home but did a good job over all. Once we got home we got his play things  and had some fun watching him play.

 

He has grown so much and developed  his coordination and strength. Later he had a bottle and started to get sleepy and off to bed he went. We shared some pizza leftovers that Heather had from the night before. We stayed up for a while watching TV until Heather had to go to bed. She needed to get up early to drive downtown for the race the next day. Aiden is a good sleeper and sleeps through the night now.

Heather got up and took Izzy out for a walk and to potty. As she was getting back in I had gotten up and noticed that Aiden was stirring around so I went in to get him and he had a big smile on his face when he saw me. What a great way to wake up each day. He had a bottle and got changed. Heather had to leave so I put him in his bouncy chair and he played with attached toys. He likes to jump and bounce around. After a couple of hours he started to show signs of feeling sleepy so we changed his diaper and took him up to bed. He fussed a little but soon went to sleep. Aiden slept for about an hour and we got him up with a smile on his face.

Heather got home after noon, showered and changed. We decided to go to Panera and have lunch and then we went to Target near by to get Aiden a couple of new shirts and a pair of pants. While we were there we looked at a Space Saver High Chair. Heather and Paul don't have a lot of room in their kitchen/dining room so we got them the Space Saver chair and it fit perfectly on their dining room chair.

This is a photo from Fisher- Price

 

 

This will come in very handy since they were using a Bumbo chair on the counter to feed Aiden. Before we left Heather wanted to have Aiden try a baby rice cracker with banana flavor. Aiden wasn't too sure about the new flavor compared to his mother's milk and his formula. Here is his reaction.

 

It was getting to be mid afternoon and we needed to get home so we said our goodbyes and Heather took Aiden up for his afternoon nap. We had a great time and look forward to getting back soon. It will be great when we can spend more time with family. Still working toward retirement and it won't be long. Keep checking my countdown clock. I know I am. :-)  







Rest and Relaxation

I had a wonderful time watching the grandkids a couple of weeks ago but having not handled young ones for a long time I needed to renew myself. It really wasn't bad at all I just wanted to get another weekend of camping in before the cover goes on the trailer. I made a reservation at our local county park called Comlara. This park is situated next to Evergreen Lake in McLean County. I reserved site #98 which is an open site with a small tree on the west side of the site(the back side of the trailer). Glenda had to work until 4 pm and I got off at noon. So I hitched up the trailer and headed north of town on I 39 and took the Lake Evergreen-Lake Bloomington exit and turned west. About a mile down the county road you turn left and pick up the road that leads to the entrance to the park. I stopped at the office and paid my fee and then drove down the park road to our site. It's a back in site with electric and water only and is easy to maneuver our short trailer into the proper spot.

#98

 

 



I hooked up the electric and water(I had to use all 50 ft. of hose to get to the water) then I put out the awning, the rug and got the loungers out. It was time to hang out and enjoy the fall colors and temps.

Even in Illinois you can enjoy some fall colors and landscape along with the blue sky and occasional cloud. After work Glenda drove out to the campsite and we took a walk around the park and noticed that all the electric sites were reserved for the weekend. I enjoy walking by all the sites and having other campers wave and me waving back. The feeling of "I don't know you but we have something in common" makes me want to fulltime even more. It doesn't matter if you have a tent, a pop up, a trailer, 5th wheel or Class A motorhome everyone is on the same playing field. We're all out here loving life and feeling free.

After our walk it was getting dark(that is happening earlier and earlier now) so we got out the chili that Glenda had made the night before and heated it up in the microwave. We had some oyster crackers, veggies and a soft drink. Food really does taste better when camping. After dinner I got the fire starting material out and got a great fire going.

Temperatures were going to get down into the 40's so we bundled up a bit and got close to the fire and it felt sooooo good. We stayed by the fire until about 9 pm and then we went inside to watch some local station TV.

After some TV we headed to bed for a good nights sleep under our micro fleece sheets. Those are one the greatest materials ever made. All we had to do is run our little portable electric heater so it kicked on once in a while and we were toasty warm all night.

Saturday morning we slept in a bit and then had some oatmeal, Craisins, walnuts and juice to wash it down. We decided that since we are only 10 miles from home we would drive into town and take a shower, I would get a Starbuck's, run a couple of errands and then head right back out to the campsite. Once we got back to the campground we took a walk and the had some lunch. We had some chicken salad on crackers and veggies. After that it was time to sit out in the sun and enjoy the warmth, the people walking or riding by and dream.



 The view from our site

 

 

We sat in our loungers for some time and then it was time to take another walk. Again the sun started to sink below the horizon fairly early so I started a fire and Glenda got the turkeyburgers ready to be grilled for supper. I then got the grill out and we first put the potato packets on. When they were done on went the turkeyburgers. We set up the dinette for dinner and had a great meal.

 

Outside looking in

 

 

After cleaning up the dishes we setting by the fire and enjoyed the colors, the warmth and each others company. Glenda and I will have no trouble being together 24/7 after we retire. We truly enjoy being together. Once the fire burned down we again moved inside to watch some TV and get ready for bed.

 

 

On Sunday we had our oatmeal and got ready to go back to town for a shower and I got another Starbucks. We didn't stay long in town and headed back to the site for some more rest and relaxation. I forgot that Monday was Columbus Day and Glenda had the day off(she works as a school secretary) so I called by supervisors work phone and left a message that I would be taking a day of vacation on Monday. We walked up to the park office and paid for another night. That felt really good. One more day. I bought a couple more bundles of firewood and we sat out  in our loungers and enjoyed the great fall weather we were having. Highs were around 70 and the night's were in the low 40's. This is what fall camping is all about. We had another great campfire and then some TV and on to bed.

 

 

 Cobwebs in the grass

 

Another view from our site

 





Glenda had a dental appointment Monday morning about 11 am so I stayed back and started the preliminary packing up duties. About noon I headed into town to pick up Glenda so we would only have the truck at the campsite and we could ride back together. It's funny we were only 10 miles from town but felt like we much farther away. We squeezed out as much time as we could before we got serious about packing up, hitching up and driving back to town. I think we were the last trailer to leave except to those that were staying another day or more. We headed to the storage facility and put the trailer in her spot. Once we got home I got on line and made a reservation at Bo Wood COE campground at Lake Shelbyville for the last weekend they will be open this season. We have been to Bo Wood every closing weekend the last 3 years. Thank goodness the government shutdown is over I didn't want to break our streak. Next weekend will be the last time we use it before we either sell it or trade it for the 5th wheel next spring. In one way it will be sad and in another way it is exciting to think of the life to come. Still working toward retirement and it won't be long.