ANGOLA MICHIGAN TO BAYFIELD ONTARIO CANADA...."WE'RE HOME:))"

WELL, THIS JUST ABOUT SAYS IT ALL.....WE'RE ALMOST HOME:))


Little did we know last night the Wally-World parking lot was the obvious hang out for all the local yokels & their souped up cars with busted mufflers. From the revving engines & horn honking I know where Indianapolis gets it's drivers from now. It's just a short drive from Angola to Indy!!!! Despite being parked on the edge of hot rod heaven we did manage to finally get some sleep. OUR LAST PIT STOP IN MICHIGAN JUST BEFORE REACHING THE BORDER


We were up by 4:30 & on the road by 5:30. When your that close to home you can just smell it & there was no holding us back. Kelly had looked up a Cracker Barrel in Lansing Michigan & wanted to stop there for a last CB breakfast. I said, "no way, I want my egg salad sandwich!!"...............I'll be getting the stitches out to-morrow:(( SHSSSSS, DON'T WAKE HIM........HE'S SOUND ASLEEP:))


The Lansing CB was easy to find so we Cracker Barreled ourselves one last time until we roll again in the fall. Couldn't finish my skillet though. I think Dolly Parton's wailing & shrieky voice coming out of the overhead speakers killed my appetite. Probably a fine person but her voice just grates on me!!

We got to the border at exactly 10:30 & were lucky because hardly anyone was there & we had a young fellow that was more interested in what kind of dog Motormouse was than the 53 Mexican illegal's we had stashed away under the bed. We were over the border in less than 3 minutes with no hassles. And once again this year if you heard that strange sound in the air this morning, it wasn't the wind, it was just me breathing a huge sigh of relief. Exactly one half hour later you might have heard a strange swishing sound in the air as well. That was just Kelly & I swamping down a great big pail full of Tim Hortons coffee in Forest, Ontario. Yaaaaaaay Canada:)))))))))

OH, OH, THERE'S A BIT OF SNOW LEFT IN THE DITCHES

The final hours drive from the border home was so relaxing. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning with lite traffic through sleepy rural farmlands. Temperatures were cool but not cold. Slight coloring in the trees lining the fields suggesting early buds beginning to emerge. Couldn't help think it is similar to the Texas flat grasslands though except we have trees & farms everywhere here. We rolled into Bayfield at high noon stopping at Clan Gregor Square to un-hook the car. Just makes it easier getting the rig into the driveway when we reach home a scant couple of miles further.

So nice to come down that final stretch of road & pull into our little community, round a couple corners & then into the rigs parking place beside our carport. Touchdown!! The Bayfield Bunch had successfully completed another southwest travel mission. Again, that huge sigh of relief spreads across the land. For snowbirds like us who still come & go during the season, coming home is always kind of unique experience. We just kind of stepped out of the motorhome looking at everything, remembering this, checking that. The doggy guys were racing around re-familiarizing themselves with everything. Got a huge spring clean up ahead of me but that's ok, I enjoy that. We walked into the house & were amazed how big & roomy it looked. And uncluttered & tidy too, just as we had left it. Sometimes it takes a period of time away from home to really appreciate what you have. IS THIS FOR REAL....ARE WE REALLY HOME??


Rest of the day was spent scurrying around unpacking the motorhome, doing some yard clean-up, trying to get the van started, bringing the motorcycle home from the neighbor's garage, re-connecting all the garden lights, laundry, bringing in the 7.4 tons of food Kelly had squirreled away in the motorhome, etc. etc. etc. & many more etc's. LOTS OF MAIL TO BE SORTED OUT


My brain had long since turned to mush to-day so it fell to Kelly's expertise & patience to get the 3 TV/Stereo remotes all figured out plus give Al a lesson on how to use a desktop computer again. The laptop internet connection had to be re-configured so Kelly took care of that too. I was struggling with trying to figure out how to get my shoes untied when Kelly set me on a chair in the corner, patted me on my wee pointy little head & said, "just relax, I'll take care of everything dear." How come all you women are so darn smart anyway!! HOME SWEET HOME


It's after 9 now, just had a hot shower, favorite tunes on the computer stereo, Kelly's out in the living room watching her shows, doggies are all asleep in their favorite spots, & I'm.........well I'm still trying to untie my darn shoes..............................!!!!

No photos for the web album to-night but don't go away, I'll be back to-morrow night:))

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

GOREVILLE ILLINOIS TO ANGOLA INDIANA

ME & MY 739th EGG SALAD SANDWICH THIS MORNING HEADING INTO INDIANAPOLIS:)) (and a big thanks to the 9 ranch chickens for making this all possible)

Seems the further north we travel from southeastern Arizona the warmer the mornings are. 54F at dawn & I think that's the warmest of all of our southwestern travels. It's one of the only things in the southwest I don't care for......cooler nights & colder mornings.

Had the big wheels rolling at exactly the same time as the morning before so we were on our way at 6:35 a.m. Immediately noticed how much lighter it was so knew we were heading for a time change which later occurred around Terra Haute in Indiana. That now puts us officially in sync with Ontario time.

It was another good driving day with cloudy skies & dry pavement. The usual egg salad sandwich with my morning 10 o'clock coffee kept me focused & on top of my game. Rig was running fine, Kelly was busy on the computer, & the furballs were all snoozing, so we just put the hammer down & kept on rolling.

Reached Indianapolis about 11:30 & decided on one of 3 possible routes to deal with the city. I-70 goes right through Indy & didn't seem like a good choice because it was a Friday. We knew route 465 North was clogged with construction so that only left route 465 southeast eventually swinging around to the north as the only reasonable choice. Luckily it was the right decision & we were able to motor right through Indianapolis with no problems. The southern by-pass does go south for quite a ways & I thought for sure I was going to see the Gulf of Mexico out the right hand window if we didn't start heading east soon. By noon we were off the by-pass & clear of the city heading north on I-69. Somewhere along the way I had a momentary lapse of attention & we ended up in the suburbs of Auburn Indiana. Despite the startled looks of a few neighborhood elders & frightened children, we managed to get the big monster motorhome off their streets & back out to the Interstate again about 2 miles away.

Kelly, on the internet, found a Wal-Mart listed in the town of Angola ahead so we decided to head there & spend the night. Big parking lot & we have ourselves tucked into a far corner complete with a strip of grass for the doggy guys. Right now the sun is shining, the thermometer tells us it's 64F, motorcycles are on the streets, bugs are on the windshield, noisy hot rods are wizzing around the parking lot, & happy Wally-World shoppers are passing by whistling cheery little springtime tunes:))

We traveled 445 miles to-day. We'll head out in the morning & travel the final 284 miles to Bayfield & home so it looks like this is the last night on the road for us but it will not be the last blog. I'll be back to-morrow night & I'll do another follow up blog on my thoughts & feelings about this past winter's trip. I will continue to blog all through the summer although it won't be on a daily basis. Whenever I come up with something I think is interesting I'll either write or photograph it. It's going to be a summer of future travel decisions & plans for The Bayfield Bunch so stay tuned to see which direction we are headed next.

Now, I wonder if this Wal-Mart has a McDonalds............................................

THE DOGGIES LOVE THEIR GRASS

No photos for the web album to-night but I will put one final trip album to-gether of our journey home shortly.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

HOPE ARKANSAS TO GOREVILLE, ILLINOIS

TO-DAY'S TIRED LITTLE TRAVELER

The nasty storm settled down last night about 9 o'clock & by this morning the parking lot had already dried up. Temps were reasonably mild & there was still a solid cloud cover. We had the big wheels rolling by 6:35 a.m. No sign of wild Bill or Hilliary as we rolled through town & headed east on I-30. They must have had other committments:)) THERE ARE A LOT OF ICE STORM DAMAGED TREES IN A WIDESPREAD AREAA FIELD OF PURPLE BESIDE THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS

It was a pretty straight forward driving day as we made the big turn to the north from just west of Memphis around 11. The customary wave to Elvis of course. To date we have not stopped even once at a McDonalds. Who would have ever thought that possible. And we breezed right through Texarkana Wednesday without stopping at the Cracker Barrel we usually like. I am very worried now that we may even make it home without hitting a fast food place. Yes, these are strange days indeed!! KELLY TOOK ALL THESE BRIDGE PHOTOS WITH OUR LITTLE CANON CAMERA

It seems every year the truck traffic doubles. I wonder what the folks out west would think if they were to ever drive over this way. I-55 between Memphis & St. Louis was a never ending wonk of heavy truck traffic. Sure doesn't look like the economy has slowed down any. And the drivers haven't slowed down either!! To-morrow morning we do battle in Indianapolis:(( THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER CROSSING

We traveled from Hope Arkansas to Goreville Illinois to-day which turned out to be 562 miles. We knew there was a nice State Park in this area because we had stayed here once before. In December of 2004 on our way back from Big Bend National Park we pulled into this park late on the afternoon of December 31rst. The park was actually closed for the season but the gate was open so in we came. It was New Year's Eve & we were the only one's here. And co-incidentally, we are in the exact same spot we were nearly 5 years ago. We just had Max then & we were driving a small Ford Gulfstream Conquest Class C. The next day we did a really stupid thing.......we drove over 700 miles to get home. Not to worry, we won't be doing that to-morrow because we are older & smarter now, right!! Just want to get Indianapolis behind us & then we'll stop for the night maybe somewhere around Fort Wayne Indiana. Looks like we'll be home sometime Saturday. And the incentive for wanting to get home right now.........big screen TV, big cushy recliner, long hot showers, big double bed, & my very own 25 gallon drum of unconditional peanut butter!! FERNE CLYFFE STATE PARK IN GOREVILLE, ILLINOIS

Rod noticed that I had mentioned last year we would never come home one day before April 1rst ever again but guess I'll have to make an exception because our inside Bayfield sources tell us the snow is all gone & promise there will be no more. WE SPENT NEW YEAR'S EVE AT THIS SAME SITE 4 YEARS AGO

Right now here at Ferne Clyffe it's 70F, the side door & windows are open, spring song birds are in the air, trees are budding, & our paid for electricity doesn't work!!!! Don't ask, I'm too tired...................................

No photos for the web album to-night.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/