Rend Lake Vacation

Friday June 21st
Well the day arrived to leave on our vacation to Rend Lake. I worked for a couple of hours that morning and on the way home I hitched up the trailer and picked up Glenda at the house. We had packed our things the night before in anticipation of us leaving after I got off work. I checked the tire pressures and then we set off out of town. We took I-55 South and then picked up I-74 East until we got to Champaign, IL. There we exited onto I-57 South all the way to Benton, IL and exit 71. I actually could have taken exit 77 further north and saved about 10 miles but I wasn't familiar with the road to our campground from that direction. Oh well, I know better next time. We stopped at the gate house to the South Sandusky COE campground and checked in. Our site was #138 in the Dogwood loop. We had full hook ups and with my National Parks Senior Pass it was $12/night.

It was about 4:30pm and we got set up quickly so we could take a little bike ride on the Rend Lake Bike Trail that ran past the entrance to our campground.

We rode past the dam at the south end of the lake and through a couple of the other campground areas.

We decided to go into Benton and have some dinner at Subway since we had not done our grocery shopping yet. That would wait until the next day. After we ate we headed back to the campsite and set out our loungers and the fan we brought. The weather forecast while we were there was for 90 degree days and humidity. The breeze from the fan made it very comfortable to sit out under the awning. Once the sun went down and the mosquitoes started to swarm we headed in inside to watch some TV before bed.

Saturday June 22nd
We got up late and had our usual oatmeal and orange juice breakfast then I had my coffee. Once we got our selves ready we headed to the South Sandusky Beach just about a mile down the road . The sun was out in full force and a light breeze. The water wasn't too cold and actually was very pleasant once you got used to it.

We only stayed about an hour or so since we hadn't been out in the sun too much so far this year. We went back to the camper to freshen up and then headed back into Benton to do our grocery shopping. We planned some meals for the next few days and picked up some chicken breast, marinade, turkey burgers, condiments, snacks and fruit. We found a nice watermelon and some grapes.

After we got the "chores" done we headed back and got everything put away. With that done we sat out under the waning and enjoyed a nice breeze and relaxed in our loungers.

Glenda isn't big on having her picture taken so I only took one of her. :-) We had a nice afternoon. Around 6 pm I got the grill out and cooked up the turkey burgers. We grill up enough for a couple of meals so it is easier to just heat up the next time. The dinner was great and very filling.

After our dinner settled we went for an evening bike ride. We found that around 7-8 pm is a good time to see some wildlife around the bike trail. The ride was not too productive that evening but we had more evenings to come. Once we got back we again headed in for some TV, reading and early bedtime. However before going to bed I did notice that there was going to be a Super moon the next night but it was supposed to be cloudy so I took a photo of an almost Super moon.

Sunday June 23rd
We again got up a little late and had our breakfast of oatmeal, juice and I had my coffee. After talking about what we might do that day we decided that this would be a good day to drive further south toward the Shawnee National Forest region and ride our bikes on the Tunnel Hill Bike Trail. We traveled down I-57 South and then took I-24 East toward Vienna(VIE-N-NA). We exited onto Route 45 and went north a few miles and then left on the Tunnel Hill Rd. Just a mile down the road we came to the trailhead for the Tunnel Hill. After parking there happened to be a gentleman from the area and he told us that the trail from there to Vienna was the most scenic part of the trail. (Good to hear that). So we hopped on our bikes and headed down the trail. Just about a 1/2 mile up the trail we came to the "TUNNEL". The literature we had said that the tunnel was about 500 feet long and you have to  walk your bike through the middle portion because it gets pretty dark in there.



 

This is coming up to the tunnel and it does look like it would be pretty dark in there.

 

This gives you a better perspective of the length of the tunnel. We were able to ride all the way through on the way to Vienna.

 

 

There are several trestles that you have to cross and you can see that they vary in length and construction.

 

 

The landscape was very scenic and we stopped on a couple of the trestles to get some photos.

 



The trail then lead us into Vienna and a little park before it continues on. The full length of the trail is 45 miles however we only did the 9.3 miles from the tunnel to Vienna and back again. (Round trip approx. 20 miles if you include the part from the trailhead to the tunnel)

Ok, here is the not so good part of our ride. The gentleman we spoke to didn't mention that the tunnel was the highest point on the trail and if you go from the tunnel to Vienna you would be going down a gradual 2% grade which means we had a uphill 2% grade coming back. No wonder it was sooooo easy going to Vienna. We were not prepared for this. As I said we haven't been out on our bikes much if any this summer before now. So back we headed. Slower of course. We took several breaks and that helped a lot. Good excuse to take some photos.

It was a welcome sight to see that tunnel again from the other side and the rock formations leading into the tunnel were spectacular.

 

 

Now remember I told you that we were able to ride through the tunnel on the way to Vienna but going back it was a little more dark around the entrance from this side compared to the trailhead side. Well Glenda didn't fair too well on the ride through and almost ended up running into the wall and had to stop about 2/3 of the way through and walk her bike the rest of the way. I was fortunate to go through first and was able to keep my eye on the exit or I too would have become very disoriented.

This will give you some idea of what it looked like riding through the tunnel.

 



Here are a couple of photos after I exited the tunnel coming back.

We made it back safely and got the bikes loaded up in the truck and headed to Vienna and found a nice little Mexican restaurant for a late lunch.

 

 

We had a nice drive back to the campsite and rested in our loungers for a while. We didn't do any more bike riding that day. :-) The rest of the day was relaxing, watching some TV and to bed. As predicted there were a couple of small storms that went through the area but never did get bad where we were. There was a nice storm during the night that made for a nice night with the rain on the roof lulling us to sleep.

 

 

Monday June 24th

 

Again we slept in that morning and then had our oatmeal, juice and I had to have my coffee. We then headed to the beach for some more sun and water. The temps were really getting hot and the water was very refreshing. We had a great time but limited our exposure to the sun. We again relaxed in our loungers in the afternoon and had a nice short bike ride on the trail around our campground and checked out some of the other campgrounds that are part of the Rend Lake COE group. We had the chicken breasts in a Teriyaki marinade all day and I grilled those up for dinner.

 

 

Tuesday June 25th

 

We have a routine now, sleep late, have breakfast, coffee and plan our day. Today however it was not to the beach. There were some chances of rain and it was a little more cloudy today so we decided to go to a movie in the afternoon. Just north about 15 miles from us is Mount Vernon, IL and they have a nice AMC movie theatre. We looked up what was playing and found out "Man of Steel" was on so we drove up and enjoyed the movie. First time in a long while I had some theatre popcorn and a soda. I also decided on Milk Duds too. (I splurged) Lots of action but a little too long for our taste. IT was worth the drive and expense. Well back at the campground we did get some rain and a little thunderstorm. Good thing we put the awning up and some things away while we were gone. Once the rain and storms passed we watched TV and read some before bed.

 

Wednesday June 26th

We were supposed to leave today but I was enjoying our time away so much I called my boss and asked her if it would be ok to take one more vacation day. She and her family have camped in the past and she was more than happy to give me the ok. So after we had breakfast we headed back to the beach for some sun and fun. We ended up having the last of the turkey burgers for lunch and snacked for supper. After dinner I wanted to go out for another bike ride since I hadn't gotten much in the way of wildlife shots. Again we headed out about 7:30 pm and started down the trail. We got around by the South Marcum Recreational Area that leads into the campground and then I saw it.

 

 

Can you see what I saw?

 





Yes, a beautiful doe deer right off the trail along the tree line. She just stood there as we rode by. I was so excited that I turned around to get a better look and she continued to stand there looking at US. I tried to zoom in some but with my excitement and my unsteadiness I was only able to get a somewhat blurry photo. I was disappointed after I looked at the photo later but I still got the picture I had wanted.

My trip was now complete. Then as we were riding back to our campground we were riding along an open field and Glenda pointed to something in the grass a way off just walking along.

I know it is a little hard to tell the species and I am glad it was a ways off from us and headed in the opposite direction. It was a SKUNK. Wow, a doe and a skunk on our last full day of vacation. Once back at the camper we enjoyed the landscape outside our trailer and then watched the sunset.

Thursday June 27th
We did our usual morning routine even though we were leaving for home today. After breakfast we decided to make a quick trip to the beach and then come back and pack up. Even though we only stayed about an hour it was worth the time. We had the bikes loaded up the night before and all we needed to do was strip the bed. gather the dirty clothes, secure things inside for the trip home, clean up and hitch up. We finally got going around 2 pm and had an uneventful trip home. Just a great sample of what is to come next year when we retire and go full time. If we get this excited about a week in Southern IL I can't imagine what we will do when we travel without commitments to work. Looking forward to retirement and it won't be long.

Broken Record

We finally got some good warm weather here in Central IL and Glenda and I decided to make a reservation at Bo Wood COE(again). The third time this year. Hence the "broken record" title. This is our favorite campground(as I have mentioned before) and we had not been out camping for about 5 weeks since the last time we were at Bo Wood. This is the fewest times, coming into the summer, that we have been camping since we started 3 years ago. The natives were restless. Also we wanted to get out as we prepare for our vacation in 2 weeks at Rend Lake. We reserved site #99 which was where we were five weeks ago. It's a nice pull through with full hook ups.(Glenda likes full hook ups) and it's on the end of a row so you only have folks on one side. Plus with my Senior Pass the fee is only $12/night. Who said getting older was bad? :-)

#99

 

  Just so happens the awning side is where our neighbors are.

I got a new camera a few weeks ago and was trying out the fish eye setting

 

 

I think it looks pretty good. We got to talking with the neighbor on Saturday about the weather and how happy we are that it is finally warming up. I found out his name is Don and he and his wife(Twyla) are from Effingham, about 35 miles south of Bo Wood. They had just traded their "bumper pull" trailer and were testing out the new 5th wheel. It's a 2011.Pinnacle 36 RETS and they got it used from a dealer that took it in on trade. They invited us in to take a look and it still had the new RV smell. We found out Twyla just retired from teaching and Don is going to retire in December this year from an Auto Parts company. We were licking out chops so to speak just wishing we were that close to retiring. We're getting there. We had a good time getting to know them. They even invited us over to their campfire that evening for some additional chatting. They don't plan to go full time like we do but they wanted to have something bigger for those opportunities for some extended stays. Anyway we had a great time and I hope we get to see them again.

 

We didn't take our bikes with us because we weren't 100% sure of what the weather would be over the weekend. The weatherman thought there would be a chance of rain on Saturday and again on Sunday afternoon. Well after we got set up on Friday afternoon there was a small rain cell that went though the area. It was actually quite pleasant with just a soft rain off and on for a couple of hours. We just sat under the awning and enjoyed the sound of the rain. Saturday was a nice sunny day with calm winds. We took a morning walk around the campground and the place was almost full. I need to get a picture some time of one of the sites that is right near the lake. It's site #133. It's nicely shaded and the awning side faces the lake perfectly. If it's a little windy from the south it could be a rough as the wind comes right off the lake. But what a beautiful place to be. Too bad Reserve America doesn't have photos of this campground and the sites or I would post one just to give you an idea. Next time we are there I promise to get that picture.

 

We didn't have any rain on Saturday and the skies actually were pretty clear in the morning on Sunday and then started to cloud up closer to the afternoon. I had told my boss on Thursday that if the weather was windy or there were storms on Sunday I would be staying put and taking a vacation day on Monday to travel home. Well the weather held off and we were able to get packed up and left the campground around 2:30 pm. We had a nice tailwind and saved a little gas(have you seen gas prices lately?) Good Golly. Safe trip home, camper in in the storage facility and we are getting ready for our adventure at Rend Lake. Looking forward to riding the bike trails and we are even planning on driving a little further south and ride on the Tunnel Hill State Trail. As I was researching the bike trail at Rend Lake I came across a website called Trail Link.com. It's free to sign up and you can access all kinds of information on trails throughout the US. We plan to access the trailhead at Harrisburg, IL. I plan to get many photos and will post an accounting of our adventure on Rend Lake Bike Trail and Tunnel Hill Trail. So until then, we continue to work to retirement and full timing and it won't be long. Wish us luck for good weather. 

Rend Lake Reservation

I am very excited - Every since we traveled to Benton, IL last summer and spent a few nights at the Benton KOA so I could work in Marion, IL we have wanted to go back to southern Illinois so we could spend some time at one of the Rend Lake Campgrounds. If you didn't get a chance you can go to this link to my post from last summer. The Benton KOA is right next to I-57 with traffic all day and all night whizzing by. If only I had done a little more homework and looked closer at what Rend Lake had to offer in campgrounds I would have found out how quiet and scenic the campgrounds were just a few miles further west away from the interstate. Well I made a reservation for next month for us to go back and spend a few days in the South Sandusky campground. We chose the Dogwood loop.  Glenda likes to have full hook ups (for more than a weekend we need FHU due to our smaller holding tank size) and there are a couple of FHU sites on that loop and one was available. The great thing about this loop is the bike path around the southern part of the lake goes right by our loop.

 Here are a couple of photos I took on one of our rides in the evening last year

 

 

 

 

The second photo is riding through one of the loops. Not sure which one that is since we went through them all, I think. There are 4 main area campgrounds - North and South Marcum and North and South Sandusky. As you can see the sites are farther apart with nice foliage.



Doesn't this look better than

 

This?



 

Now all we have to do is watch the weather and hope for some nice clear days. Last year was one of the hottest summers on record for the Midwest. So far we have had plenty of cool days and are ready for some warm (I didn't say HOT) weather. The last few days are beginning to shape up with temps in the 80's.

 

 

There is also a nice swimming beach near the South Sandusky campground.

 

The rest of May is going to be busy with me working a couple of motorcycle safety classes( I am an instructor for the IDOT program in Central IL teaching basic motorcycle riding safety classes) and visiting our daughter and grandkids in IN over Memorial Day weekend. Then another class in the first part of June, go see our newest grandson - Aiden again(he is now 2 month old and growing like a weed) and then our time to relax and get some vacation camping. Only 6 more weeks, but who's counting.  Like I said before we are camping right now until we get the 5th wheel next spring and prepare for going on the road. Looking forward to retirement and full timing and it won't be long. 

Finally We are Camping Again

It has been one long cold Winter/Spring since we last were able to get the trailer out for some camping. We decided no matter what the weather was we were going to go. So over the weekend we hitched up and traveled south to our favorite campground in the area. That is Bo Wood COE. Once we are out of Bloomington/Normal we head south on Route 51 then onto Route 20, Route 35,Route 105, Route 32 through Sullivan, IL then about 3 miles south of Sullivan a right turn takes you to the campground gate. We checked in and had reserved site #103. Glenda likes full hook ups and with my new Senior Pass we pay half price for our site. That's $12/night. Can't beat that even figuring in the gas we used. The weather was supposed to be cool but warming through the weekend. Friday night got down to 30-31 degrees so I didn't hoop up the water hose just in case. We thought it would be better to be out in the open where the sun could worm us during the day and I brought plenty of firewood to keep us warm in the evening.

 Site #103

 

We got to our site around 6:30pm and got set up. Glenda had made some chili at home the night before so we heated it up and with some veggies and dip. Food just tastes better when you're in a campground. We decided to run the space heater instead of running the furnace. Out trailer is pretty small so a heater and an extra blanket is all we needed. We slept great.

 

The next morning we got up late and had our usual oatmeal, blueberries, walnuts and cinnamon. Orange juice with the vitamins and we are good to go. Once we got the dishes cleaned up we took a nice long walk around the campground. We figured if we walked all the loops we would get about 3 miles of walking. There was little wind and the sun was out in full force so we had a pleasant outing.

 

Once we got back to the trailer we decided to go into the town of Sullivan and I got a big cup of coffee and Glenda had her usual Diet Coke - fountain style, of course. Then it was time to do some exploring. We like to visit the nearby town of Arthur, IL. This is Amish country and we enjoy seeing the Amish folks living their simple lifestyle.

In Arthur there is a nice little ice cream/coffee shop so we stopped and had some ice cream. Outside we saw a couple of horse and buggies.

RoseLens is where we had the ice cream

We stopped at the Dollar General nearby and got some batteries for a new lantern we had gotten over the winter and picked up some other items that we didn't know we needed.  Then a drive through Amish back roads we saw houses with laundry on the line, horses in the fields and even this donkey.

I think it's a miniature donkey

 

 

Once we got back at the site we got a fire started for the evening and decided to grill some turkey burgers. Baked Lay's BBQ chips and veggies for sides. The rest of the evening we sat by the fire and enjoyed the warmth and flames.

Once the fire burned down to hot coals we moved inside to watch some TV, read and play some games on the I pad. With all the activity on Saturday we again slept very well.

Sunday for us is always a bit of a sad day since we have hitch up and head back home to start a new work week. However at Bo Wood the check out time is 4 pm so we always stay as late as we can. We had out usual breakfast and got a few things packed up. We took another walk in the morning and noticed it was warming up even faster than on Saturday. The winds were coming out of the south more. This also would make for a smooth drive home since we would have a nice tailwind. We decided to build a small fire and relax for a while before we did the full pack up, clean up and hitch up.

This is the opening weekend for Bo Wood and I was surprised their weren't as many folks out as we thought there would be. In our loop there were only 4-5 other trailers. The other loops had about the same numbers in each.

Looking north from our site

 

Looking a little more east of our site

 

 

We had a great first outing of OUR season. The trip home was as I thought - very smooth with a great tailwind. Excited about next year when we retire and begin the full time life where we don't have to think about packing up to go home. We will be IN our home.

Looking forward to retirement and it won't be long. 

 

 

 

 





LaCrosse and Grandkids

Well after our weekend with the oldest daughter and our new grandson we wanted to visit the other grandkids in Indiana. Our oldest granddaughter, Jasmyne, is a freshman in high school and tried out for the Women's Lacrosse team and guess what she made the team. As a matter of fact she is the only freshman that made the VARSITY team. Quite an accomplishment. This young lady is a very talented athlete and could do just about anything she wants. Anyway, we went over to their home last weekend to watch her play her second and third games of the season. It just so happened she was playing 2 games on Saturday. The first was in Noblesville and the second was just a few miles to the south east in Fishers. Since this is her first year she didn't get to play much but it sure was fun seeing her in her uniform and gear.

This is Jasmyne



We went to their home on Friday evening and it just so happened that her husband's family(Mother, Uncle Ron and Aunt Ellie) were there to see our daughter's husband, Todd's, son Mason play Rugby for Davenport College in Grand Rapids, MI. When ever we get together we always have a good time.

So the next morning Sommer(our daughter), Brooklyne(the next oldest granddaughter), Glenda and I jumped in our car and made the rip to Noblesville. Jasmyne was able to catch the ball a couple of times and made some good throws down the field to the other team mates.

Jasmyne is #28

 

Having never watched Women's Lacrosse it was difficult to understand the penalties. But we still had fun watching her participate.

 

Doesn't she look official?

 

Unfortunately since the team is somewhat young and the other team had home field advantage the other team won. It was a close game at 5-4.

 

Once the game was over and she came to say hi we then worked our way over to Fishers and found a Monical's Pizza. We ordered the Individual Pleasers(8 inch pizza with the toppings you want on it) with  salad and drink. We all got the thin crust and I got a root beer for my drink.

 

We found the second field at the Fishers High School and it was actually the football field and had artificial turf. Now this is something the Penn High School Women's Lacrosse team had not played on before and with home field advantage again the other team won. This time it wasn't as close in score BUT that just gave Jasmyne more time on the field. Since the score wasn't as close they could allow the newer, younger players to stay in the game and get some additional practice.

 

It was hard to get action shots since the game moves so quickly but at least I did get her on the field.

 

It was a little cool so the players brought blankets to cover up with while waiting to come into the game. I just happened to catch Jasmyne as she opened her blanket to reposition it. She was all the way across the field from us and I had to zoom pretty far. She had no idea I was taking her picture but it looks like she was actually posing(pretty cool). We all had a good time and I had to get photos of my daughter.

This is Sommer(Jasmyne's Mom)

 

This is Glenda and Brooklyne

 

As you can tell Brooklyne is pretty tall for her age(She's 12). The photo is a little deceiving since Glenda is only 5ft tall.

 

We had a great ride back to Sommer's house and the rest of the crew that went to the Rugby game had already had supper. Ron made chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes and corn. Since it was pretty late and we had a lot of pizza earlier we just snacked around until bedtime. However the next day we did finally get to taste the wonderful food that Ron had made. Leftovers are the best.

 

Now we are getting ready to go back to Chicago for another visit to see Aiden, his Mom and Dad. I know that it is going to get busy this summer so we need to get as much time with ALL the family before it gets crazy. Still working toward retirement and it won't be long. We even moved up the date on the countdown clock. October 2014. I have all the fulltime RV bloggers that I read on my list to thank for that. Reading about your lives and the way you are living each day makes me want it even more. Thank you for sharing and I look forward someday soon of reaching my dream too.

 



New addition to the family

Well we have been pretty busy the last 4-5 days. Our older daughter and her husband had their first baby. This is our fifth grandchild. Our younger daughter has four children and our son hasn't gotten married yet(but has a girlfriend). We went to Northern Illinois to help with the two dogs while they were at the hospital and to witness the birth. Wednesday night they went to the hospital because they were going to induce her early the next day. We got to the hospital Thursday morning and she was beginning to feel the labor pains increase from the medication to induce labor. Once they did the epidural on her though things went smoother.

By early afternoon she was really beginning to feel some back pressure and the feeling of needing to push. The doctor came in about 3 pm and gave her the go ahead to start pushing. Well about three pushes later Aiden Seth Ulmer was born. He had a little trouble getting his first breath and we were asked to leave the room but fortunately the Neonatal specialist came right in and intubated him and he started breathing on his own. Whew......That was scary. We were all able to see him before they took him to Neonatal ICU to be sure everything was alright.

We were taken to the NNICU a while later and he had really started to perk up and his color was good too.

Then they took Heather and Paul to her room on the Mother/Baby floor at Central DuPage Hospital. The funny thing is Heather was born at the same hospital when we were living in the Chicago area while I went to college. Glenda and I went to their home to tend to the dogs and get some rest.

The next day we  went back to see our new addition to the family. It's been about 6 years since the last grandchild was born and only the second grandson. That makes five grandchildren. I don't think we are done yet but time will tell. Glenda couldn't get enough of holding Aiden.

But I had to have my turn too.

Heather, Paul and Aiden came home on Saturday afternoon and we had so much fun watching him make faces and cooing. He really enjoys being swaddled in his blanket and looks so good too.

Here is a great picture of the happy parents.

 

 

And one of the other children. The hairy kind. :-)

 

 

Mom and Dad had a bit of a rough night on Saturday since this was the first night at home and there was the time change and since Heather is breastfeeding it is taking a little time for the milk to come in. However I did talk to Heather this afternoon and they had just come back from the pediatrician's office. Aiden had not lost any more weight and was in excellent condition. He had only lost 4 oz. from the time he was born to when he left the hospital 3 days later. I guess he is getting what he needs nutritionally. We are so happy to have another addition to our family. In two more weeks we go see the other grandchildren and enjoy some one on one with them. Looking forward to our next opportunity to see Aiden. How great it will be when we retire and can spend more quality time with them all. The countdown continues.



Chicago RV Show, Now We Know

Well, I have been talking about going to the Chicago RV Show in the last couple of posts and we did that on Saturday. We looked only at 5th wheels since that is what we plan to purchase when we get ready to retire in early to mid 2015. We saw high end, mid range and low end rigs. After reviewing the prices, floorplans, options and the specifications of all those we saw we have determined that the Sanibel 3500 is the one within our price range, has the specifications for full timing, the quality in construction and the floorplan we like the best. Now I'm not saying that this decision might not change in the future before we pull the trigger but I have been to the Chicago RV show for the third year in a row and the Grand Rapids RV show this year and we just have not seen another 5th wheel IN OUR PRICE RANGE that really meets our wants and needs like this one. Are there better rigs out there? I'm sure there might be but we feel like we have seen just about every manufacturer out there right now and for our money we like the Sanibel. I've searched a number of forums and the general consensus I have seen is "the best rig for you is the one that fits your wants and needs". This one does that for us. Going to Chicago and seeing the Sanibel again after our first impression in Grand Rapids confirms our sense of knowing. Working toward retirement and it won't be long.