Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Journey

Left Southern Illinois yesterday after enjoying a couple of days of the music festival at the Kaskaskia State Historic Site on the Mississippi. It's nice that the people of the Saving Illinois History organization sponsor this event annually.  There were talented people, young and old, providing that melodious escape that we really appreciate. Then we packed up Ferd and Ole Yeller and pointed northeast toward the next stop in Indianapolis.
Choosing the path is part of our process each time we leave a spot.   Moving along is made more interesting by our technological abilities though.    For instance, we prefer to travel the state highways, through small towns, taking in some of the local atmosphere.  So what do we do?  We look at our Streets and Atlas program on the computer and determine how many miles we might want to travel for the day.  Where might the stop be for this night?  We open our websites for overnight stops, or campgrounds, to determine a few options for stopovers.  We may look at our files of past stops stored on the computer...perhaps we look at  other rvers' recommendations or blogs for an idea.  Websites full of various types of rv stops are available to us.


Well, once we are on the road, we can track our way on the GPS (That's Tillie, to us.).  There's the option of simply watching the path we are taking, or programming her to a specific destination, if we have one.  Sometimes, we revert to the paper maps.  The old habits still are comfortable when in the midst of a journey. 

But since we have the internet air card, there's the option of taking an alternate path at any moment.  Just turn on the computer and look up a town or a campground that we see along the road.  Our last stop was in a WalMart parking lot in Effingham, Illinois.  We didn't know for sure when we left that morning that we would stop there.  It was a possibility.  As we traveled through the little towns of Pinckneyville and Tamaroa, IL, it wasn't clear where we might stop.  We saw the coming of Fall evident in the fields and on the trees.  It's fun to soak up those sites. Part of this particular trip was on the Old National Road, US40, where we were able to see pumpkins for sale and slow down through the tiny towns.    When it comes right down to the lifestyle, though, just moving along the pathways is an important ingredient to the overall experience.  Yesterday's journey is always the one to remember. 

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Mississippi River Connections

Hello, click here to see the google map of our current location at Kaskaskia State Historic Site, near Chester, IL.

We're continuing our trip down the Mississippi River.  About 60 miles south of St. Louis along State Highway 3, there's a point where the historic Lewis & Clark expedition and the legend of Popeye, the king of spinach, coincide. We arrived a couple of days ago, planning to enjoy the view of the river from Kaskaskia S.H.S. and investigate the home of some fictional friends.   As we approached the park we began to see signs for a music festival that followed our exact route. What a nice surprise. Arriving in time to get a good spot in the campground, we are ready for this weekend's Fort Kaskaskia Traditional Music Festival.
Meanwhile, looking around at our surroundings at Kaskaskia, we learned this site is historic in several ways. It is the point in 1803 where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark recruited twelve soldiers from the local fort and hired a few Frenchmen to help pilot their boats up the river on their assignment from President Jefferson."  Kaskaskia was a thriving frontier community, the center of much trade and travel from its settlement in 1703.  The village was also the first capital of Illinois in 1818-1819. Tragically, in 1881 a flood began a drastic change in the route of the Missisippi, washing away this home of many pioneers. In a few years time, Kaskaskia was under the river.  Now this commemorative site on the bluff is a beautiful spot to view the mighty Mississippi.

Along another stretch of the Mississippi shore, just six miles south on State Highway 3, is the quaint little town of Chester, Illinois.  The creator of Popeye, Elzie Segar was a Chester citizen, born in 1894.  He based his famous character on a local scrapper, Rocky Fiegel, who lived in the city from 1868 to 1947.  It all began with a performance in the local Thimble Theater in 1929.  Can't you just here it? 

"I'm Popeye the sailor man; I live in a garbage can......."  Looking around Chester it didn't take long to run into Popeye and Bluto.  On another block downtown we found Olive Oil, too.  All the touring and talking of spinach made us ready to look for a good local eatery.   After seeing the number of cars in the parking lot of Reid's Smorgasbord, we decided to take a chance. Even if we over-did-it, oh well, we could skip dinner.   Reid's was a super choice, $6.49 for an array of yummy choices. Including one of my favorites, crispy catfish. And we both indulged in the absolute best bread pudding ever, lots of cinnamon, well worth the calories!  If you're in the neighborhood, try it. There's spinach, too!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Pausing in Iowa

Moving west from northern Indiana, through Illinois and into Iowa was a pleasant, sunny trip a couple of days ago.  No delays and not too many trucks on I-80.  We generally like to travel the red highways or even county roads, but there aren't too many choices in that area.

  So, we decided to try I-80 in Indiana at least. We are heading for Moscow, Iowa, to the HWH headquarters to see why our idiot lights for Ferd's leveling system are not operating.  The 260-mile journey went smoothly. Before we knew it we were taking in these expertly-striped Iowa farmlands.

We are situated now at a nice Corps of Engineers park at Coralville Lake, near Iowa City.  There are several campgrounds around the huge lake that's fed by the Iowa River, at  Exit 244 off I-80.  We chose one of the closest to the exit and presumed that since we were arriving on a Thursday morning there would be plenty of space.  Wrong!   The reservable spots, 60% of the space, were all taken for the weekend and many of the first-come, first-served sites were already full.



Guess what?  It's Iowa Hawkeye Country and this is a home game weekend! 


The black and gold is everywhere and they come early to get their territory reserved.  But since we had a slight jump on the regular weekenders we did find a vacant site. Actually, we don't understand why it wasn't already occupied.  We have a great view of the lake and no one directly next to us.  It's been a lot of fun the last two days watching the loyal Hawkeye fans take part in a Midwest tradition.  The leaves gradually cover the ground, those Fall smells are in the air, as the football fans gather in their teams' colors to discuss the hopes for the season.    I posted a couple of photos here for our Iowa friends.



For now, we'll watch the fishermen on the lake and enjoy the crisp September weather while the stadium fills and empties a few miles away.  We'll go to Iowa City tomorrow to see what I am sure is a lovely campus and its surroundings. Go Hawkeyes (since they aren't playing the Hoosiers).

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Crossing Paths

We're about 100 miles north of our last stop, in the RV capitol of Elkhart, Indiana.  Our primary reason to make this a destination was RV maintenance, oil change and lube, etc, and a few other items.  We like the Coach Care facility here, so here we are.But then, a couple of RV friends, Ron and Sharon Mead were passing this way and wanted to take in the interesting Amish country a few miles east.  Next thing we all knew we were on our way to the flea markets and restaurants in Shipshewana.  We decided to stop along Highway 20 on our way over at a "barn sale" where we encountered this young girl
with her pet raccoon.  Bandit enjoyed her grapes.
Just before we made it into the town of Shipshewana we noticed the black buggies parked along the highway and the stands setup for a flea market.  Had to make that stop, for sure.  We found many Amish folks making their Saturday trek to the market and a mixture of booths with everything from puppies and snakes to handmade leather items.  We resisted the yummy-looking homemade pastries, but had to at least buy a loaf of wheat bread. And, it was outstanding! One thing that seemed a little different than flea markets we are used to is the number of puppies for sale. It was fun to see them: hound dogs, Boston bull terriers, Cocker spaniels, and on and on...

Finally did make it into town where we all chowed down at the Blue Gate restaurant, a popular place for scrumptious country meals.   The four of us had an array of chicken, ham and pork chops with the various side dishes and healthy fresh-baked bread.  Then, it was off to explore Yoder's Dept. Store, offering a broad selection of fabrics, hats, shoes and iron cooking utensils.  Ron and Sharon found the dutch oven they've been wanting, so we are looking for goodies in the future.

A nice way to spend an afternoon---crossing paths with our friends as well as with a different way of life.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Summer's End

It's the end of another summer. Labor Day weekend usually brings up certain topics for we adults. Each time it rolls around we say.....where did the months go?....why didn't we get to certain places. Or,... how about, why didn't we tackle those summer projects ? "For sure, .....next summer we definitely will get to those things." But, remember when we were kids and time didn't seem to matter that much. Or maybe we just didn't have that much grasp of life flying by us. Not really such a bad thing, right?

These thoughts came to mind as we watched the six and eight year old children of our good friends splash and wrestle one last time in every last bit of the water as the family pool drained for the season. We had a great weekend parked in Mike and Suzanne's back yard in Marion, Indiana. There was a lot of story-telling and laughing as we caught up on our lives. It was an awesome way for us to conclude our 2009 summer.

Meanwhile, Lauren and Sean had a grand finale as the water swirled out of their pool. Their smiles told us it was a good summer for them, too. Oh, the joys of youth!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Thanks Again

It's time again to say "Thanks Guys." We appreciate you!

We're just completing another stop in Indianapolis. It's precious times with family and friends that draw us back. Oh yeah, the medical appointments are a must occasionally, but not the real reason. It's the ties that bind us.

These visits are always filled with lots of reminiscing and sharing, sometimes a few tears. Somehow the departure date never fails to get pushed back. Oh well.
You know how it goes.....a family birthday gathering.....one more lunch with an old friend....an opportunity to see someone you missed on the last trip or to stop by an old haunt. And then, we're off again.

A few days ago we celebrated Jerry's birthday with family and friends. Jenny and Tim give Dad a little love in the top photo. Tim generously holds our parking spot for Ferd at his home for whenever we decide to meander into the city.


Krissy, my awesome daughter, adds her smile to our birthday celebration, too. Our visits often include her sharing a new cooking technique or recipe. Oh, Jerry's birthday chili was superb!











Caroline and Ben, the grandchildren, are loving young people that never fail to make things interesting. We have fun keeping up with them on Facebook, email and maybe a text message or two as we roam the country.
But it's these face-to-face encounters that really rejuvenate us!




Another birthday on the agenda this trip was my onry sister Linda's. Many other people have a member of their family like this, I'm sure. The younger sister who tormented you continually as you grew up. Well, that's the one. Anyway, it was a nice lunch with my niece and my other sister. Here they are clowning around in the Red Lobster parking lot: Nikki (Lin's daughter), Lin and Marti. I'm the middle sister--always left out you know. Whenever we get together there's no lack of conversation and laughs. (Really, Lin's okay...I guess.)

We'll be pulling Ferd onto the road again tomorrow, looking for new experiences and crossing paths with rving friends. As we go our way, we are so thankful to have every one of our special people in our lives. Many are not mentioned here, but they know who they are.

A big hug and thanks to our family and friends for the support you all give us in our adventure. Our lifestyle is rambling but our ties do keep us grounded.