Spring has Sprung....and a Radio

We still had the itch to get out the Bighorn last week and because it was the opening weekend at our favorite campground...Bo Wood at Lake Shelbyville, I made a reservation for 3 nights beginning on Thursday evening. I had a meeting at work Thursday morning and as soon as it was over I took some personal time and we hitched up the Bighorn and headed south. I was a little worried about our route with the larger rig but we made it safe and sound. We reserved site #103 on the end of a row with no one on our awning side. It's a site that is out in the open and is good for this time of year when you want the sun to warm the rig up during the day. I checked us in and we got set up on our site. I really like the auto leveling system. It makes the process of getting level so much easier. Once we got the slides out and the utilities hooked up we had some supper. Glenda had made some chili that morning for us to have over the weekend. After everything was cleaned up we took a short walk around the loop. We noticed there were only a few rigs which was nice for some privacy.

We watched some TV and enjoyed the larger space to move around in. Once we headed to bed we were out like a light. Fresh air will do that to you.

Friday

We slept well in the bed and had out little heater on in the bedroom which was just enough to keep everything toasty along with our fleece sheets and comforter. Once we got up we had our oatmeal and I made some coffee and sat our under the awning with the warm sun on my clothing. I kept my face in the shade and with the cool breeze it felt wonderful. Glenda got her shower and then I got mine. I decided to do some organizing of the basement area and as I was moving some containers around I noticed that a vent on the side panel was loose. I got my screwdriver out and took both screws out. I then thought I would take the vent off and take a look behind the panel. You see the panel is on the side of the outdoor radio. As I mentioned in my last post how disappointed I was that the radio didn't work I thought it has to be something simple. I got the owners manual out and as I was looking at the diagram and looking at the back of the casing that the radio is housed in I noticed an opening in the back. I looked at the diagram again it said this was for the antenna connection. AHHHH...the antenna. I got my flashlight and looked through the vent opening and saw what looked like a radio antenna. I reached it and took hold and pulled the end out of the vent hole. I saw that it the the opposite end so I reached back in and followed the wire toward the other end and sure enough it was not connected to anything. I pushed the end through an opening next to the back of the radio where the other electrical connections went through and then took that and connected it to through the opening in the back of the radio housing. I got the radio faceplate and put that on the front, hit the power button and the channel search and YOU GUESSED IT. Folks we have MUSIC. Happy Days.

When the technician at the dealership had installed the hardwired EMS(surge protection) they must have unplugged the antenna when they opened up the panel to get to the main line. I knew it had to be something simple but how simple was that? I am now a happy camper. I replaced the vent cover and got it tightened down better and finished my organizing. My day and for that matter my weekend was complete. We took a couple walks around the campground and went into Sullivan for some supplies and I took the opportunity to wash the truck at the car wash next to the Shopko store.

It really needed a good going over. We enjoyed a nice afternoon and evening. We thought the weekend might have some rain chances but those disappeared and the weather man said the weekend would be warm and dry. That's why I washed the truck, of course. After supper we watched some TV and we had another restful nights sleep.

Saturday

We again did our routine of oatmeal and I had my coffee and sat out under the awning WITH THE MUSIC ON. It was a great morning. We took a walk around to the older part of the campground that is electric hook up only but has the best views of the lake. Like these.

After our walk Glenda wanted to play a few games of ladders so I set up the game and I don't know how I did it but I won every game. Usually Glenda is the big winner but with the way the weekend was going for me I guess it was just my time. An indirect reference to my friends Rick and Kathy from the blog, It's about Time. Anyway, I will take a win when I can get it. We took a drive into the town of Arthur, IL where there is a community of Amish folks and a nice store where we bought some peach salsa and some cookies. Once we got back to the site we relaxed in our loungers and enjoyed the unusually warm weekend. Temperatures had gotten up to around 75-79 degrees F.  I grilled out some turkeyburgers and diced potatoes in foil packets. We got the dishes cleaned up and I went out to build a fire for our last night at the campground. It was a perfect night with little wind. Once the fire burned down we again went in for some TV. The electric heater didn't have to run as much that night.

Sunday

Well, the routine continued with oatmeal and coffee and sitting under the awning. We took short walk around part of the campground and I noticed I had definitely gotten some sun over the weekend on my arms and face. I should know better than to go out this early in the season without suntan lotion on. Anyway, we slowly began to put some things away for the trip home. We drove into Sullivan and got some diesel and a couple of sodas. We had some leftover chili for lunch and relaxed for a while in the loungers until we  were forced to dump the tanks, batten down the hatches, hitch up and right at 3pm(check out time) we got on the road. We had a nice tail wind and I actually averaged 11.4 mpg. We got back to the storage lot and found someone had parked their truck in our space. I then improvised and parked my rig at the end of the row. I left a message with the owner and talked to him today. That won't happen again. We have a few more things to finish up with the house and hope to get it on the market by the end of the month. I'll keep you posted. So I continue to work toward MY retirement, and it won't be long.