We are Sooo Spoiled!!!

After lunch in Walker, MN, we decided to checkout additional campsites. We found Stony Point Resort on Cass Lake to be MUCH better for us. It has grass, running water and is right on a "canal" to the lake. We get satellite reception, cell phone service and Internet access as well. Plus, we can walk to breakfast, lunch & dinner. We ARE SUCH WUSSES!!! But, you know what? I don't care!

Thursday, into Lake Winnebigoshish

Drove from Alexandria, MN to Lake Winnie today and are camped for 3 nights at the Corps of Engineers CG near the dam. This campsite is a disappointment to me. I was looking forward to lakeside camping and what we have is a dusty, tree filled campground. We will look around for something better.

Meanwhile, we are, at this very minute, having a late lunch at Pepper's Lakeside Bar & Grill in Walker, MN. We are sitting just 20 feet from the shore of Leech Lake. I got a nice WiFi signal and MA is talking to Ashley.

I just ordered a broiled Walleye sandwich platter (haven't had fresh Walleye since we were in Minnesota in 2001). MA ordered the Walleye platter - fried fingers.

Our BLOG updates may be sketchy for a few days. We definitely don't have a signal at the campsite.

After a breakfast at Cracker Barrel, we broke camp in Sioux Falls and headed north, our destination is Lake Winnibegoshish in far northern Minnesota.

I decided to let the GPS system get us there the "shortest" route. That typically means US highways and some local roads but, no interstate highway driving. The "Red Roads" the full-timers like to call them. The first sign of trouble was when "Microsoft Mary" (GPS voice) wanted us to turn onto a gravel road that had a 5 ton weight limit sign. I, weighing 16 tons and being no fool, made the executive decision to override M.Mary and continued on. Next, she said to turn onto another gravel road. It was showing two miles long so, I did turn...got over the first hill and encountered a farmer driving a combine to his fields. He was in no mood to let some fool in a 40' mobile home pass him by. So, we crept along at about 3 mph for about one of the two miles of gravel road.

Finally got to pavement and while driving merrily along at 55 mph, hit a swarm of THOUSANDS of bugs! The encounter was over in a second but the damage had been done. Blood and guts all over the windshield.
That was the only bug problem...very strange how it was just one cluster of bugs and then no more.

We stopped for lunch at a park in Ivanhoe, MN. MA walked to the local store and bought sauerkraut and buns and I grilled sausages outside. That was a very pleasant interlude.

We are in for the night in Alexandria, MN at the Wal-Mart "RV Park".

We are one day behind on our "schedule" but, that's OK. It is not really a schedule so much as it is a "route". Our next SCHEDULED event is at the Newmar factory on July 13th in Nappanee, Indiana.

Tuesday Evening in Sioux Falls, SD

This is a cool city! MA & I had dinner downtown in a diner and then drove down to Falls Park where Wells Fargo sponsored a laser light show highlighting the history of Sioux Falls. It was a cool summer evening and we thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and the show!

Tuesday, June 27th - Sioux Falls, SD

Left Sioux CITY, IA, stopped for diesel fuel near Yankton, SD ($2.819) and drove in to Sioux FALLS, SD around noon. We immediately went to the offices of Alternative Resources (www.alternativeresources.net) which is where all of our change of address from Louisiana to South Dakota has been coordinated. They had already procured our SD auto & RV registrations and had recommended insurance agencies. It was nice to meet the president, Paul Eidsness who is a distant cousin of Joel Eidsness, our beloved pastor while we were in Connecticut. We proceded to "get totally legal" by getting our personal driver's licenses (must do this in person) and registering to vote in the general elections.

We used this opportunity to meet the insurance agents handling our RV insurance (Daugherty Associates, Dan) and State Farm auto insurance (Jerry Priebe).

After business was finished, we drove to downtown Sioux Falls. What a beautiful city! We had lunch at the Falls Overlook Cafe, situated inside the old hydroelectric plant building, overlooking the Falls.

Monday, June 26

We bundled up the coach and left the Kansas City campground around 9am, heading for Topeka, KS. MA drove the Jeep ahead and picked up McDonald’s breakfasts in Bonner Springs. We then hitched up the Jeep and drove the remainder of the 68 miles to Topeka.

 

Had a delightful visit and lunch with aunt Lou (Mom’s sister) and uncle Harry. I helped Harry with his computer, made a quick repair to the movable front inside step and we were back on the road about 3pm, headed in the direction of Sioux Falls, SD.

We stopped for dinner at Oehler Brothers rest. in Onawa, Iowa (). Filling but not much flavor on the Swiss Steak. We are in for the night at Sam’s Club in Sioux CITY, IOWA, about 87 miles from our destination of Sioux Falls, SD.

Sunday, June 25th

Started the day off right by attending the traditional service at Shawnee United Methodist Church, just several blocks from our campground. This happened to be the senior pastor’s last day and is transferring to a Topeka church after six years at Shawnee UMC.

This afternoon we had a nice visit with my uncle Floyd & aunt Aileen. Last October, they returned to Kansas City after 22 years in Sun City, Arizona and they have a lovely apartment amongst trees, waterfalls and lagoons.

We wrapped up our Kansas City stay with a dinner at Dos Reales Mexican rest. with Janet & Bob. MA & I are thinking about coming back to KC for a month or so next spring. There are so many folks to see and we would really like to spend better quality time here. A month should allow us to do that.

Saturday Night is Date Night!

After visiting with her cousins, MA and I went on an old fashioned date. Just like my parents 65 years ago, we went to the original Winstead's in Country Club Plaza in KC and had steakburgers, fries, onion rings and chocolate shakes! Outstanding!

Then we drove to see Great Aunt Myrtle's home on The Paseo, the old Municipal Stadium location (KC Royals and KC Chiefs played there until 1973), Downtown KC and the commemorative plaque honoring Kansas City music at 12th & Vine (inspiration for 12th Street Rag and Goin' to Kansas City). We also visited the site of the Garden Apartments in North Kansas City where brother John & I lived for several years in the mid-1950's. Sometime in the last five years, they had been torn down and replaced by very nice loft and flat apartments.

Mary Alice's Family

Today we have enjoyed the opportunity to visit with MA's cousins at John & Beth Yeldell's home. The pic shows Morton & Tanya Mallory, MA, Joanna and Beth Yeldell, Debbie Thomson and John Yeldell holding George on the front row.

The Battle in Lenexa!!!

Friday night, cousins Steve & Janet and their spouses, Louise and Bob, MA & I went to the The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle – The Kansas State Championship in Lenexa, Kansas. There were 185 teams and each team had their own hospitality tents. There were thousands of people there last night!

On Saturday, 240 judges have the hard task of identifying the best barbeque among seven different categories including; brisket, pork, ribs, sausage, chicken, whole animal and miscellaneous. It was an interesting and enjoyable evening. We came home totally exhausted!

Friday - June 23

Last night spent a wonderful evening with cousin Janet & Bob at Steve (cousin) and Louise Mankameyer's home. Everybody brought something (MA's $30 fruit salad...it was SOME fruit salad) and Steve cooked brots & Italian sausage on the grill. The weather was delightful and we spend a lot of time on their deck overlooking Tomahawk Creek and a nature preserve.

Thursday - Moving Day in Kansas City

To start the day, we shopped at our host (Wal-Mart). MA has been wanting to replace the old teflon pots & pans. So she selected Farberware non-stick. It was raining very hard.

We then relocated our camp to Walnut Grove RV Park in Merriam, KS (KC suburb) very near where I lived for grades one - three. This is a very old, former trailer park but it is located fairly close to family. The RV slots are very close (see pic w/ Gypsy in window).

Travel to KC

We left Lake DeGray, AR Wednesday morning around 9am, fuelled up in Bismarck, AR and drove on to Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. We could not get into the Walnut Grove RV park until Thursday, so we spent the night in a large Wal-Mart parking lot at 119th & Metcalf. We stayed here for several days two years ago, just after we bought this coach. It is very central to shopping and we took advantage then to buy new decorations, storage units, etc. for the new coach.

We ate dinner at the Elephant Bar and then visited with cousin Janet & husband, Bob. Next Friday, Bob flies to Guatemala on a mission trip with other people from his church.

FYI's

I just added a new link, "June to October Route", on the right side, under "Links". This shows the basic route we intend to follow. The dates and destinations in bold type are fixed places and dates for which plans and reservations have been made.

Also, did you know that if a thumbnail picture catches your interest, you can click on the thumbnail and open up a larger picture?

Tony & Misty's Loft Apt.

4:00pm
We are currently relaxing in Tony & Misty's loft apartment in downtown Hot Springs, AR. This building is the former Hot Springs High School and they have a very large 4th floor corner unit that is just terrific! MA says that she could live here...MA, be careful what you ask for! Misty cooked a great early afternoon brunch and we are going out for Italian tonight.

Lake DeGray, Arkansas

We left Monroe, LA very early Monday morning and drove the backroads up to Lake DeGray, Arkansas. Got here in mid-day and son, Tony and his wife, Misty, joined us. We stopped at a roadside vegetable stand and picked up squash, corn and peaches for dinner. After a quick grocery stop, we came back to our campsite enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with Tony and Misty.

We are camped at Edgewood CG, a Corps of Engineers facility. In addition to usually being clean and situated near water, CofE campgrounds are moderately priced ($10 - $18) AND, us old folks get a 50% discount with the Golden Age Passport (age 62 minimum). So, we are here for two nights at a total cost of $10!

We cooked shish-ka-BOB's for dinner and then Tony & Misty returned home to Hot Springs).

Today, we will visit them at their loft apartment, downtown Hot Springs in the former Hot Springs High School, which is famous for a former pupil, Billy Clinton.

Trip Back to Monroe

We left Ashley & Javi’s around 9:30am EDT and arrived back to our motorhome around 7:30pm CDT, driving 657 miles. We stopped at the original Dreamland BBQ Ribs place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for lunch…OK but not great.

Ashley's Family

We are in Greenville, SC with Ashley & Javi's family. They recently moved into their new home in Simpsonville, a suburb south of Greenville. It is a large, very wooded lot and MA & I have our own living area in the basement. I have been watching Camryn and Cecilia and the US Open (in that order). We will be driving back to Monroe tomorrow.

Sale is Over!

I had a very successful six week sale in Houma but was VERY glad to get to Monroe on Monday, June 12th to meet up with MA. We stayed in the driveway of friends Alyce and Sonny Panzico for one night at their farm east of Monroe.

We then drove the Jeep Wrangler over to Greenville to see the grandbabies once more before setting out on our odyssey.

Going Separate Ways

On Tuesday, May 2nd, I put MA on Amtrak in Picayune, Mississippi where she traveled to Greenville for two weeks of watching Camryn and Cecilia while Javi & Ashley did the hard work of moving into their new home. (See Javi's website: http://webpages.charter.net/jbuzzalino4661/ )

I drove the coach down to Houma, Louisiana where I worked a six week furniture sale at Louis Mohana Furniture (actually in Bourg, LA). It was a long six weeks! MA did come to visit me in Houma for one week but then she had to go to Monroe to look after her sister and have some oral surgery performed.

Newmar Kountry Klub

On April 25th, we set up camp at the Paragon Casino RV Park in Marksville, LA where the Louisiana State Rally was hosted by the Louisiana state director, Fred Walton and his wife, Marlyn. The men cooked hundreds of pounds of crawfish on Thursday night and red beans and rice on Saturday. REAL Cajun food and it was outstanding! Plans are being developed for the Newmar International Rally in Burlington, Vermont for late September. Louisiana will have about twelve families represented there, including the Heinz's.

East Texas

We left Austin and drove to Lake Steinhagen near Jasper, Texas for an overnight campsite

Lunch on the Lake

WE had the opportunity to have lunch with Austin friends, Dan and Norma Sizemore, at the County Line BBQ on Lake Austin. Great food and great friends.

Wednesday, April 19th

Left Granbury, Texas, had lunch at a Mexican rest. in Meridian, TX. Then we drove to Lake Belton for a quick visit with our friends, Jerry and Marsa Scott at their lakeside home.

Then drove to Georgetown, TX, just north of Austin where we spent six nights at the Corps of Engineer's Cedar Breaks Park at Lake Georgetown. Berri and Colin live nearby and we got to see where they are building a new home. In addition to eating great BBQ and Mexican food (Chuy's, of course) we took Berri & Colin out to Hamilton Pool, west of Austin.

Sunday, April 16th

We left our campsite at Joe Poole Lake in Grand Prairie, TX and drove to Burleson where we had a wonderful chicken dinner at Babes and then visited with MA's long-time friend, Kathryn Bird at her daughter, Wendy's home. Kathryn's mother and other daughter, Celeste, were there as well.

We then drove to Granbury, Texas and had two wonderful days with long-time friends Ken & Sharon Buller at their new home in Pecan Plantation. Ken and Sharon were co-workers of Bob's while at Braniff Airlines in the 1970's and thru the years we have had several great visits with the Bullers when we lived in Philadelphia and Connecticut.

April 15th - Dinner in Saginaw

John and Jackie drove us out to son Jeff and Melissa's new home where we had a great visit with them and Melissa's family. Jeff cooked hamburgers and hot dogs and we all drank beer on a warm Texas evening.

Joe T Garcia's - Ft. Worth, Texas

While in the Arlington area, we had to have a meal at our favorite Mexican restaurant - Joe T's in Cowtown. We were joined by nephew Andy Heinz for a great lunch on the patio.

April 12, 2006

It was great to see Bob's brother John and his family in Arlington, Texas. We went to dinner in Mansfield at Spring Creek BBQ.

April 11, 2006 - Left Monroe

We completed the sale of our Monroe home and drove over to Bossier City, LA where we had dinner in the Horseshoe Casino and stayed overnight in their parking lot.