COLD RAINY DAY BUT WE KEPT OURSELVES BUSY & IT’S GOOD TO BE HOME….FOR NOW

AS SOON AS OUR RAINY DAYS END I WILL BE OUT THE DOOR WORKING ON OUR YARD CLEAN-UP

Woke up feeling much better this morning so I'm convinced my Tuesday afternoon fatigue & lethargic state was nothing more than jet lag or in my case, road lag. I was heartened to see the rain had finally stopped. That meant I could get started on our huge Spring clean-up. Creatively or constructively working around outside is always therapy for me. Just makes me feel good to get something mentally & physically accomplished. (minutes after writing this paragraph the skies opened up & it rained for most of the day:((

<<< SIGNS OF SPRING IN OUR DRIVEWAY

Arriving home every year & flopping into my big cushy recliner for the first time I always have the same thought. "That's it, I'm staying in my chair forever & I'm never leaving home again'. Just soooo nice to be soooo comfortable. Big screen TV, big stereo sound, warm, secure, & soooo comfy. If that feeling were to last I would likely never travel anywhere again. Fortunately it doesn't last but I sure do enjoy it for the short time it does. Won't be long & I will be grumbling about wanting to be on the road going somewhere again.  The Hitch Itch generally starts not long after I have the yard clean up done & have touched base with a few favorite spots in the area.  Surprised myself last winter in Congress when we uncharacteristically stayed in one place for most of the season.  But, the thing different there was the amount of work I had to do around the property & that kept me interested & focused.  Of course that is enjoyable work for me & after 6 winters of Boon Docking & Ranch Sitting it was just nice to have a needed change of pace & do something entirely different.  Like they say, ‘variety is the spice of life’ & I am certainly inclined to agree wholeheartedly with that:)) 

FRONT YARD POND IS NEEDING A GOOD SPRING CLEANING TOO
We both noticed shortly after leaving Congress Arizona that our thoughts, memories, & lifestyle, there were already fading into the archives of our minds. Our winter Arizona days which just last week were so very real to us already seem like another life on a distant Planet in a far away Galaxy many, many, light years away. Did we really buy a house in Arizona last year? Did we really buy a new RV this year? Standing here looking out our living room window I do see a new Sunseeker sitting there so that part must be true. It all just seems to be so, so, long ago already:((

FORGOT TO BRING THIS CLAY POT IN FOR THE WINTER BUT IT SURVIVED THE ICE & SNOW ANYWAY

Looking at the weather map this morning I once again am aware how truly fortunate we were to have slipped home when we did. A few days later & we would have been into some very nasty weather across the States. Again, it is one of the reasons we don't dilly dally around on the way home at this time of year. Weather is just too volatile, too unpredictable across the mid-west in April. Coming through Joplin Missouri a few days ago we could still see Tornado damage from a few years ago. If the weather & driving conditions are good I believe in making time while one has the opportunity to do so. While traveling from Point A to Point B I much prefer to put my time in on the road rather than sitting around in an RV Park or Walmart parking lot watching television, reading a book, or playing on the computer. Much prefer to take advantage of good weather, good driving conditions, get home early, & then relaxingly do all those things in the comfort of one's own home. Reference back to comfy recliner:))

AND VERY SHORTLY I WILL BE MATCHING WITS ONCE AGAIN WITH SQUIRRELS & RACCOONS HERE AT OUR BIRD FEEDING STATION 
Despite our cold rainy day we did manage to keep busy at things. Kelly was off to Clinton & Goderich running errands while Pheebs & held down the Fort doing dishes, sorting through things, laundry, dishes & picking up pine branches outside between rain showers. Don't know what kind of magic energy dust our nocturnal pine forest Fairies sprinkled on me in the night but it worked. Well, for most of the day anyway.

STILL A BIG CHUNK OF ICE SITTING IN OUR SUMMER RAIN BARREL

A question in our Shout Box asks: 'How do you do with time change coming home? Must say my body is in far better tune with Ontario time than Arizona time. For some unknown reason my internal body clock just never made the switch & did not accept Arizona time this past winter. Had never had that problem before. I'm now back to going to bed around 10:30 or 11 instead of struggling to stay awake to 9:30.  Maybe this time shift will help rid me of my crankiness.  Maybe chickens will flap their wings & fly to the Moon someday too!!

 

LOTS OF CLEANING UP IN THE BACK YARD AS WELL

How nice to be back to our desktop computer with it’s BIG screen, FAST internet, & LARGER keyboard etc.  For aging eyes like mine it is a welcome relief to be back seeing vibrant colors & clarity in a larger format again.  I do like my Toshiba laptop but when we get back to Bayfield in the Spring & I power up our desktop computer it becomes immediately apparent what I have been missing all winter.   Kind of like comparing watching a movie on a big movie screen to watching it on a TV screen.  No comparison.  Give me the large movie screen any day.  And I’ll gladly take the larger desktop computer screen over a laptop screen any day as well.

JUST AN OLD CEDAR STUMP IN A FLOWERBED  

GROANER'S CORNER:(( My wife still uses curlers in her hair after she washes it. She came into the Family Room as I was watching TV. I guess I stared at her funny because she said, "I just set my hair."
The last thing I remember saying was, "Oh, really? And what time does it go off?"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

THE WEATHER GODS THANKFULLY SMILED ON US FOR A FEW HOURS THIS MORNING

LOOKING FORWARD TO BLOGGING FROM OUR COMFORTABLE SUNROOM THIS SUMMER AGAIN

Checked the weather map first thing to see where the rain was. Our utility trailer is not enclosed so knew we could not afford to get caught in a rainstorm bringing Uncle Harry’s stuff home this morning.  Rain was not due until early afternoon so we had a window of opportunity.  Luckily we have a big carport to park the trailer in upon our return.   Not much storage space inside the Jeep so we decided Kelly would take our Hyundai Santa Fe to Mitchell as well. And it’s a good thing we decided to take the second vehicle because we filled them both up.

MY LITTLE CORNER OF OUR LIVING ROOM

Cold, damp, & foggy sums up our early morning 2 car & trailer convoy to the Ritz Villa Care Facility. A quick check-in with staff & we were off down the hall to Harry’s room to begin our sad task. Everything was still there, except Uncle Harry. Kelly packed things up & with the aid of a 4 wheel cart I transported Harry’s belongings to our two vehicles & trailer outside. I was amazed at the amount of stuff in his room. Two & a half hours later we were done & left Harry’s room for the final time. A last look out his window at what had become Harry’s outside world for the past number of years & we were gone. For readers who have had to do this you will understand what we were thinking & how we were feeling this morning.

FIGURED I HAD BETTER GET A PIC OF OUR UNCLUTTERED KITCHEN BEFORE WE UNLOAD THE RIG

It was a slower drive home using paved back roads. Had a bit of weight in the small utility trailer & the tires on it are somewhere over 10 years old. We bought that trailer used when we moved from the old Weenie Roast Ranch to our present place in Bayfield. It made many trips back & forth & has paid for itself many times over. It is now mainly used for hauling yard waste to our recycle area here in the Park. But when needed, like today, it once again came through for us & did the job it was built to do.
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The weather Gods smiled on us & waited until we had safely returned to Bayfield & backed the utility trailer into our roofed carport. Half an hour later the rains began again & as I type this tonight it is still raining. Had us some thunder along with that rain as well.  I did have a couple tarps along with us this morning just in case.

I figure it was simply the fatigue of the last 5 days that finally caught up with me this afternoon. We were only home a short time when the energy just literally drained out of me. A rare headache set in & I felt like I had been run over by a big Mac truck. Crawled into my recliner, pulled a blanket over me & remained there in a rather lethargic state for about 5 hours.   Hoping for a better day Wednesday.  But Kelly hardly stopped working today. She was literally buried in paper work, emails, faxes, & phone calls. In fact that is why I think I got so darn tired….just watching her hopping from one task to another.  A big stack of mail to sort through, Harry’s estate affairs, phone calls to a lawyers office, the funeral director, banks, insurance company, income taxes to ready, & still paper work at this end for the Sunseeker.  License tags, inspections, etc.  And much of it all has to be done pretty much this week sometime. We are still in a big jumble ourselves here from unloading the rig. Big, big, yard clean-up waiting outside & we are forecasted to have 3 or 4 more days of rain. In fact, a winter storm warning for Thursday has just been issued.  Maybe I can finally get caught up with some blog reading this week.   Now, am I complaining? No, not at all. Just stating where we’re at today.  Tomorrow we will be at somewhere else I'm sure & for today that is what makes life interesting.
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Before leaving Congress last week I was surprised at the amount of space we had not filled in the Sunseeker. I had thought for sure we would not have enough room for everything & yet we had bin space left over. Nice not to be carrying extra weight on the road & especially nice at this end Monday when it did not take us nearly as long to empty the smaller rig. Of course we were speeded up by an incoming rain front which arrived about an hour after having all the main stuff moved into the house.

IT’S FUNNY BUT I HAD NO RECOLLECTION OF ALL THAT STUFF ON THE HUTCH

When we arrived in Congress last November 1rst we were so excited to be there & just walked around looking at everything saying. ‘Wow’. We do the same thing every year arriving home here in Bayfield as well. It is always a big ‘WoW’ feeling to first walk around outside looking at everything. Tall Pine trees, all the greenery, & despite the mess old Man Winter has left, it all looks so great, so cozy. And then we unlock the door & walk in the house for the first time in five & a half months. Snow Birds may identify with this when I say, ‘double Wow’, everything just looked so great, so neat, & so trim. We see things we forgot we had, we see the house in a new light after being away from it for so long. We just walk around saying, ‘Wow’ look at this, ‘Wow’ look at that. I was so impressed I had to take some photos. These reactions several times a year are just a couple of the things we enjoy about being Snow Birds. We always look forward to the abrupt & complete changes in scenery, living space, & lifestyle. And in between those lifestyle changes & scenery we get to go on some amazing road trips as well. For me, it is a combination of all those radical changes that keep life interesting. Maybe doesn’t work for everyone but it sure works for me & I wouldn’t want it any other way:))

HAVE TO MOVE ALL THESE PLANTS BACK TO THEIR SUMMER HOMES SHORTLY

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A man traveling down a country road was forced to stop before a giant puddle covering the entire road. Looking to the side of the road, the man noticed a farmer leaning on a fence.
"Think it's safe to cross?" the man asked.
"I reckon so," replied the farmer.
The car was immediately swallowed by the puddle as the man drove in. In fact, it was so deep that he had to roll his window down to swim out of his car back to the surface. As his head broke the surface the man said to the farmer, "I thought you said I could safely drive through this puddle!"
"Well, shoot!" said the farmer, scratching his head. "It only come up chest-high on my ducks!"
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

COLDWATER MICHIGAN TO BAYFIELD ONTARIO & SOME ‘AWWWWW NUTS’ THOUGHTS AT THE BORDER………..

THE FACE OF ‘HAPPY TO BE HOME’:))))))))

Easy to tell we were further north Sunday night.  Had to crank up the rig’s furnace.  A nice advantage of our small Sunseeker’s size is the fact it’s basically one small room & warms up very fast thus not using much propane.  Bonus.

MINUTES LATER WE ROLLED OUT OF THE HOME DEPOT PARKING LOT IN COLDWATER MICHIGAN

By 5:10 a.m. this morning Coldwater Michigan was fast fading in our rear view mirror as we headed east for the border.  It was a 3 hour drive & I was glad to see a band of clouds sitting on the horizon.  That simply meant we would not be driving right into a blinding sunrise.  We’ve run into that problem before on this stretch of Interstate with old Sol sitting right on the road.

LAST PIT STOP OF OUR 2012-2013 TRAVELS…NEAR POST HURON MICHIGAN THIS MORNING

We reached the U.S. side of the border at 8:35 a.m.  With the border office opening at 8 we had figured it best not to be there right at 8.  A good idea to let the border staff get a couple good jolts of Monday morning coffee under their belts first.  And, as it turns out, it’s a good thing we did!!

PARKED AT THE BORDER WAITING FOR KELLY TO CLEAR THE AMERICAN ‘EXPORT’ BUILDING

Now, you would think with all the agonized worrying I have been doing over this whole importing of the Sunseeker from the U.S. to Canada, & after all the glitches, stumbles, border stress, fretting about being detained forever, put in shackles, & all the rest of it…….the border guards could have had the decency to give us at least a good 15 minutes of their most miserable time ever.  But, oh no……they were all as nice as nice could be.  Well, except for the guy who warned Kelly to ‘step back’ because I think he thought she was going to blow him up!!  Ok, to explain……………

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We crossed at the Port Huron/Sarnia border crossing.  As we approached the first line of border check booths at 8:40 we pulled off the road onto a concrete shoulder on the right side.  Nowhere did any sign tell us where to go when ‘importing’ a vehicle.  We saw a brick building to our left so Kelly grabbed her papers & quickly crossed the road dodging lite border traffic & headed for the building.  Outside the building was a man in an elevated booth.  Kelly approached the booth to ask for directions & the man quickly put up his hand & hollered, “do not come any closer Ma’am”!!  Maybe he thought she was a terrorist.  Kelly was able to get some directions out of him anyway despite her threatening presence & about 10 minutes later came out of the brick building with a smile on her face.  This building was U.S. customs where one has to let them know one is ‘Exporting’ a vehicle out of the United States.  That went off without a hitch & Kelly said the man was really nice.  Ok, now comes the part where everything goes into the dumpster, right?

KELLY ENCOUNTERS ‘A CONCERNED BORDER OFFICIAL’ IN THE ROUND BOOTH BEFORE ENTERING THE BIG BUILDING BEHIND IT

Over the big steel girder Blue Water bridge we go with great views all around.  The vastness of Lake Huron on the left & the St. Claire River stretching away to the right.  We get ourselves into the RV Lane & pick a border inspection booth ahead.  Hope we get a border person with a good Monday morning attitude.   We did.  Young fella who, despite the usual fumbles on my part answering questions, had some smiles for us & a double take on the great price we paid for our Sunseeker.  He instructed us to pull over to a nearby building & park under a canopy.  Border staff were there to meet us.  Now, here’s the best part, for me that is….I got to stay in the rig with Pheebs while Kelly went inside the building to do the paper work for ‘Importing’ a vehicle to Canada.  Twenty minutes later she was climbing in the passenger door with an even bigger smile on her face.  It was all done & Kelly said the lady inside could not have been any nicer or more helpful.  It’s not fair I tell ya…..after all my grumbling, worrying, complaining, fretting, speculating, predicting, etc. etc. etc. & then everything goes off without a hitch.  ‘Awwwww nuts’ it’s just not fair to us grumbling folks I tell ya!!

 

LAKE HURON STRETCHES LIKE AN OPEN SEA TO THE NORTH

Within minutes of leaving the border inspection area at 9:20 we knew we were back in Canada.  Even with our eyes closed we always know.  How?  Smooth roads:))  From the time we arrived at the border until the time we left the border spanned about 40 minutes.  Who would have ever thunk it would have gone so smooth eh.  Hint….Kelly did her homework:))

 

BACK TO THE FLAT LANDS OF ONTARIO

We were on the homeward leg of our journey & half an hour later we were at a Tim Hortons coffee shop in Forest Ontario for our annual coffee & donuts to go.  Ohhhhh, what a great feeling that was.  And what a great feeling making that final 45 minute drive home to Bayfield.  Home is always home no matter where you go & we are lucky enough to have two of them.  But Bayfield is home-home.

 

ROLLING INTO THE SOUTH END OF BAYFIELD AT 10:45 THIS MORNING

We always stop on ClanGregor square in Bayfield & unhook our Jeep before driving the final couple miles to our place just outside of town.  Just a little easier doing it that way.

 

JEEP’S UNHOOKED AS KELLY PULLS OUT TO LEAD THE WAY HOME 

Pheebs went absolutely Bonkers as soon as she jumped out of the Sunseeker & saw where she was.  She raced around & around & around about a hundred miles an hour.  She was so totally excited & happy the long journey was over & she was home.  She could hardly contain herself as she ripped back & forth up the driveway, down the driveway, into the back yard, into the front yard, & upside down around the side yard.  Pheebs & I even made it out for a trip around the pine forest trail later.

ENTRANCE TO OUR PARK WITH OUR MAIL ROOM ON THE LEFT

 

ROLLING THE NEW SUNSEEKER INTO IT’S SPOT

HOME WITH ONE VERY HAPPY LITTLE DOG

More thoughts on returning home, our hurried trip, Congress, how the Sunseeker performed, & our busy agenda ahead in the coming days & weeks but for tonight it’s time to just kick back in my favorite recliner & grab a few hours of unconscious time.  In the morning we kick things into high gear again as we hook up the utility trailer & quickly head for Mitchell Ontario between gathering rain fronts to clean out Uncle Harry’s room.  For the next while there just isn’t going to be enough hours in the days for us.  Uncle Harry’s funeral will be one week from today………….

IT WAS FOUR & HALF DAYS OF GRUELING TRAVEL FOR THE BUNCH

GROANER’S CORNER:((   A man is having a really bad day on the golf course. By the 14th hole, he's missed one putt too many, and he lets loose with a string of profanities, grabs his putter, and storms off toward the lake by the 15th tee.
"Uh-oh," says his caddie to one of his playing partners, "There goes that club."
"You think so?" said the other golfer. "I've got five bucks says he misses the water."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

ST. LOUIS MISSOURI TO COLDWATER MICHIGAN…MONDAY WE DO THE BORDER!!

With a partially cloud shrouded crescent Moon low on the eastern horizon we made our way through yet another sleeping city.  St. Louis Missouri’s Gateway Arch stood tall on our left as we crossed an unseen Mississippi River.  We’ve tangled with St. Louie a few times before so we wisely knew enough to do it this time in the wee quiet hours of a Sunday morning.

Rolled out of Cracker Barrel shortly after 5 a.m. & yaaaay, no wind.  Well, not yet.  Nice morning & smooth sailing all the way to Indianapolis.  Indianapolis has always had a habit of beating us up & spitting us out.  Today was no exception.  Interchanges had changed out around the airport since last there & we missed a new 465 route change.  I-70 dragged us right down through Indianapolis itself & unceremoniously tossed us out the other side.  We’ve been tossed out there before so knew how to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, & grapple our way back northward to pick up our route again on I-69 north.

Winds had picked up & it wasn’t long before I saw a truck & fifth wheel on the other side of I-69 pulled off on a southbound shoulder.  Noticed a man about 300 feet behind the rig approaching a tangled mess in the ditch.  It was his awning…….metal arms & all.  The buffeting east bound cross winds had hit him on his awning side.  We had a similar thing happen back in 07.  BIG KANSAS WINDS. 

Had been hoping to make it up to Lansing Michigan but Kelly spotted a Walmart going through a place called Coldwater Michigan & that was it.  We needed a new vacuum cleaner anyway & this was likely going to be our last U.S. Walmart stop before hitting the early morning U.S./Canada border.  So it is a new vacuum cleaner we now have.  The old one is in Congress & we are in a Home Depot parking lot for the night.  Walmart’s parking lot did not look too appealing. 

Monday morning we will do the border thing.  Offices for importing vehicles etc do not open until 8 a.m. so I imagine we’ll be at their door by 8 or shortly after.  We have all our proper papers in order & everything is above board but it’s a border thing so it all depends on what mood the person on the other side of the counter is in.  Remember, it’s Monday morning:((

SOME TRAVEL DAYS GET A TAD MORE CLUTTERED THAN OTHERS

GROANER’S CORNER:((  My kids love going to the Web, and they keep track of their passwords by writing them on Post-it notes.
I noticed their Disney password was "MickeyMinnieGoofyPluto," and so I asked why it was so long.  "Because," my son explained, "they say it has to have at least four characters."

WEATHERFORD OKLAHOMA TO ST LOUIS MISSOURI…WINDY, BUT WE MADE IT:))

 
THANKS TO READERS FOR IDENTIFYING THIS MOCKINGBIRD, IT SURE SANG PURDY & HAD THE NICEST WHITE BANDS WHILE FLYING….ST. LOUIS CRACKLE BARREL PARKING LOT
We set our sites on St. Louis Missouri this morning & by golly we made it.  Rolled out of Weatherford’s Walmart around 5.am.  Windy as all get out & we fought that wind for the rest of the day.  The Sunseeker may be smaller than the Motorhome but with it’s high profile & less weight it is quite susceptible to heavy wind gusts so one has to be on their toes for sure.

 
NICE TO WALK IN AN OAK TREE FOREST & EVEN SEE SOME SPRING DANDELIONS…MISSOURI  WELCOME CENTER & REST AREA
The toll road was once again a nice alternative to having to go through Oklahoma City but if you come this way be prepared to part ways with a $25 dollar bill.  The toll route actually consists of 3 Turnpikes.  The Kilpatrick costs $4.60 while both the Turner & Will Rogers Pikes cost $9.75 each.  Money well spent on less stress I figure.

NO, WE DIDN’T STOP AT THIS COOL McDONALDS WITH AN INTERSTATE RUNNING UNDER IT
Because it was Saturday I didn’t find the city of Tulsa as traffic infested as last time.  Other than some bad wind gusts east of Joplin Missouri our day was rather uneventful.  Temps have been in the low 70’s.  Looks like we could be running into some very wet weather sometime Sunday though:((

ALWAYS NICE TO SEE FORESTS & TREES AGAIN
In December of 04 heading for Big Bend in Texas with our Class C Golf Stream Conquest we came through St. Louis & stopped at a Cracker Barrel.  Stopped at the same CB with our Motorhome another time & today we made that same Cracker Barrel our overnight stop for the day.  Mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn, & chicken fried steak is my kinda grub so I enjoyed my Cracker Barrel supper tonight.  I think Kelly had green stuff or something.

 

WE ALWAYS ENJOY POPPING INTO A CRACKER BARREL OR TWO ALONG THE WAY:))
Ended up logging 560 miles today making our journey 59 miles longer than Saturday.  By leaving Congress on a Thursday we have been able to deal with 3 major traffic problems on one week-end.  Oklahoma City Saturday morning, St. Louis Missouri Sunday morning & Indianapolis Indiana Sunday afternoon.  Bonus:))

THIS JEEP WRANGLER SEEMS TO FOLLOW US WHEREVER WE GO
Very much behind on my blog reading the past few days but again just want to thank everyone for their kind emails, shouts, comments, & thoughts.  It is you folks who put the spring in my step each day.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A hopeful suitor dropped into a computer-dating center and registered his qualifications. He wanted someone who enjoyed water sports, liked company, favored formal attire, and was small in stature.  The computer operated faultlessly.
It sent him a Penguin.
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.