I THINK LAST WEEK’S TRAVELS CAUGHT UP WITH ME TODAY:((

YEP, GOT ME A BIG CLEAN UP AHEAD & THIS IS JUST PART OF THE FRONT YARD

Didn't manage to pull myself out of my jammies till about 10:30 this morning. Combination of road lag, a poor night's sleep, & my hanging on chest cold. Just kinda hung around in my recliner watching the Biography channel for a big part of the day. Had rained in the night & the morning remained cloudy but at least quite mild.  Think we might have been in the mid 50’s which is super for working outdoors.  A short period of sunlight was enough to pull me outside for about an hour & spend some time on the end of my leaf rake beginning the big yard clean-up. That was about the only thing I accomplished today.  Better day tomorrow I’m hoping……………….

MY BIRD FEEDING STATION SEEN IN SO MANY SUMMER PHOTOS IS WRECKED

Saturday night looking at the weather map across the States & Canada I saw just how lucky we had been again this year in missing bad weather.   It just reaffirms my belief it is best to travel quickly at this time of year with fast moving volatile weather systems churning in the atmosphere.  Where we were Friday night in Lansing Michigan had high winds & heavy rains Saturday night & Port Huron where we crossed the border Saturday morning had hail the size of quarters.  Tonight’s news said 80 mph wind gusts across Michigan.

  

LAMP POST GLOBE IS BUST BUT EXPENSIVE BULB IS STILL INTACT

How nice to be back home with a fast internet connection once more.  Our slow & spotty internet in Congress just got to seem like normal after awhile.  That is until we got home Saturday & saw how fast & how nice a speedy internet connection is.  Bonus.

DON’T KNOW IF I WILL TRY BUILDING ME A NEW FEEDING STATION OR NOT >>>

Everything started up & came alive just fine again this year.  Computer & TV Stereo just booted up as usual when I plugged everything back in.  Course I didn’t have a clue how the remotes worked & if it wasn’t for Kelly I would probably be back to the days of getting up & walking over to the TV to change the channel or turn the volume up & down.  For some reason my mind just will not retain that kind of stuff anymore.  It’s why I have so much trouble with all the newer technologies these days.  And how super nice to be using our desktop & 20 inch monitor again.  Wowie Ka-Zowie do those big bright photos ever leap off the screen now:))  I like the portable mobility of my Toshiba laptop but give me a desktop with a huge monitor display any day.

Going to call it an early night…………..

I CONSIDER MYSELF FORTUNATE TO HAVE A YARD TO CLEAN UP OTHERWISE I’D BE SITTING AROUND TWIDDLING MY THUMBS THIS WEEK WITH NOTHING TO DO….AND COMPLAINING ABOUT IT

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A professional photographer was invited to dinner with friends and took along a few pictures to show the hostess. She looked at the photos and commented "These are very good! You must have a good camera." He didn't make any comment, but, as he was leaving to go home he said "That was a really delicious meal! You must have some very good pots."

LANSING MICHIGAN TO BAYFIELD ONTARIO…..’WE’RE HOME’ AFTER THE QUICKEST BORDER CROSSING OF EVER:))

Always a nice feeling knowing home is only a matter of hours away. It's a Snow Bird perk we both really enjoy. Had ourselves on the move by 6:45 a.m. & we were finally back on our own Ontario time again. Traffic was lite on I-69 all the way. A major highway construction project just a couple miles from the border itself turned out to be confusing but a lucky guess put us on the right road.

LAST REST STOP AREA BEFORE THE BORDER
It was our 9th Port Huron homeward bound border crossing in 10 years & it was our quickest. No line-up & the one car at the booth pulled out just as we rolled up so never had to stop until we were right at the window. It was exactly 9:15 in the morning.  Handed over our passports, 3 quick questions, & with a 'welcome back to Canada' from the lady border guard we were on our way. This is always one very, very, precious moment for us as we pull away from the border gate.  We look forward to it from the time we leave Canada until the time we get back.  Only word to ever come even remotely close to describing that great feeling we have inside after successfully clearing the border is, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh:)))))

ROLLING UP & OVER THE BLUE WATER BRIDGE IN PORT HURON THIS MORNING

As much as we love the States & consider it our second home it is always such a huge feeling of relief to be back on our home turf. Our Provincial health coverage kicks in again & no matter what happens it is going to be resolved with less complications than if we were south of the border for sure. I'm sure American folks traveling in Canada experience the same thing when getting their feet back on their own familiar home turf as well.

OUR SOUTHERN ONTARIO LANDSCAPE IS LOOKING A LOT LIKE THE FLAT LANDS OF KANSAS

How great to be back on a two lane quiet country highway again as we headed into Forrest Ontario for our Tim Horton’s coffee.  Surprised to find Timmies undergoing a major facelift but no problem as Kelly waded through the construction zone & returned minutes later with 2 medium size coffees & a couple of 22-10 ton Apple Fritters.  We slogged those Fritters down in short order & got our faces right into our coffee cups.  That was our second Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh for the day:))

Nice quiet relaxing drive for the rest of the way home.  There is always something comforting in being surrounded by old familiar surroundings.  Rolled through Grand Bend casting a glance in at Ron’s FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE to see what he had sitting around in Class A Motorhomes.  A toot coming into Bayfield going by friends Di & Harry’s place STORMRUNNER RV SALES.  Stopped on Bayfield’s Clangregor Square & unhooked the Jeep.  Kelly & Pheebs headed on home with me following.  Don’tcha just love that coming down the home stretch feeling.  And did I mention what a fine Saturday morning it was too.  As reader’s know, Saturday mornings are my favorite time of the week & coming home in warm sunny weather this morning just made it all that much more special.

LESS THAN A QUARTER MILE TO HOME & YES THAT IS SNOW ON THE RIGHT

As expected we had some snow as I pulled Winnie into her spot but at least it was in the melting phase.  Course I had to step out of the coach into snow but who cares, we were home.  Pheebs was already racing around all over the place.  Think she knew she was home too.  Also noticed something else we had been expecting.  Winter storm damage.  We had been seeing it for the last day or two on our way home.  Branches & trees down.  Our property is a big mess but no serious damage from downed tree limbs other than a smashed lamp post at the end of our driveway.  Going to take me a lot of work to get things cleaned up this year but that’s Ok I’m looking forward to it.  Gives me something to do for the next week or so & having a project in front of me is always a good thing for AL:))

PULLING INTO OUR RV SPOT

 

AND MY FIRST STEP OUT THE RIG’S DOOR GOES RIGHT INTO A VERY SOFT & WET PILE OF SNOW

It was 11 a.m. when we rolled into our driveway & it was 3 p.m. before either one of us took a break or sat down.  We’re both like that, we just like to get at things & get them done.  Clothes to come in, fridge & cupboards to be emptied, laundry, TV’s & sound systems to re-activate, etc. etc.  It’s a necessary but welcome hustle & bustle.  When I finally did sink into my recliner for the first time this year it was my third Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh moment.  And my thoughts were once again the same as in previous years, ‘that’s it, I’m never getting out of this big chair & ever going anywhere ever again’!!  Of course we all know I’ll be moaning & groaning & chomping at the bit in a couple weeks to get going & do something different again.  Always happens with me that way.

UNLOADING BEGINS

 

BOOSTING THE SANTA FE’S DEAD BATTERY & THIS SNOW & ICE BEHIND THE HOUSE IS GOING TO TAKE AWHILE TO MELT

Anyway, we are home safe & sound & thanks to everyone for their thoughts & kind wishes as we slogged our way back to Bayfield Ontario.  With heavy rains closing in on us right now I hope to get caught up with some blog reading again over the next few days, get some emails answered.  I’ll try to remember recent questions readers have asked as well.  See y’all tamarraw……………:))

PHEEBS ISN’T SURE ABOUT ALL THIS SNOW STUFF

  

TRY THIS SNOW CONE PHEEBS………….. EEEEYYYOOOUUUUUUUU

Y’KNOW, I REALLY DIDN’T LIKE THAT SNOW CONE MOM & JUST DON’T BE GIVING ME ANOTHER ONE EITHER

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and a priest were out for a Sunday afternoon flight on a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble.
In spite of the best efforts of the pilot, the plane started to go down. Finally, the pilot grabbed a parachute, yelled to the passengers that they had better jump, and bailed out.
Unfortunately, there were only three parachutes remaining.
The doctor grabbed one and said "I'm a doctor, I save lives, so I must live," and jumped out.
The lawyer then said, "I'm a lawyer and lawyers are the smartest people in the world. I deserve to live."
He also grabbed a parachute and jumped.
The priest looked at the little boy and said, "My son, I've lived a long and full life. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and live in peace."
The little boy handed the parachute back to the priest and said, "Not to worry, Father. The 'smartest man in the world' just took off with my back pack."

ALTOONA (DES MOINES) IOWA TO LANSING MICHIGAN & WE BLEW CHICAGO’S DOORS OFF………….

We were on the road by 7 Iowa time under clear sunny skies.  Thursdays North winds had dissipated & we were able to sail right along without any of Mother Nature’s wily ways impeding our steadily Eastward progress.

 

INDIANA HAS SOME NICE REST AREAS

I had a feeling I was going to feel better when I woke up this morning & my feeling about that turned out to be correct.  A good night’s sleep & aside from schnoofles in my schnoot I feel well rested compared to the previous day.   Lungs are still congested, heads still stuffed but I was free of the hacking cough today & that was a big plus.

 

JUST A COUPLE OLD BUILDINGS ALONG THE WAY

We are on the East side of the country now so it is traffic mania.  So many times today I longed to be back on those long wide open scenic roads of the West but reality dictated we were where we were & there was nothing to do but deal with the traffic chaos at hand.  And deal with it we did as we held our own against the hordes of many manic metal monsters menacingly moving for miles & miles around us on all sides.

OUR VERY MUCH MOST BESTEST LITTLE LAP DOG

I knew we had to get our buns well East of Chicago before the afternoon rush started around 3.  Friday afternoons are always the worst in any city & Chicago traffic has been known to eat RV’ers up & spit them out.  We pushed hard right from Altoona east of Des Moines all the way.  Entered the melee around 1 p.m. on Chicago’s southwest side & were well out of it less than an hour later with all limbs intact & no dents & scrapes to the Winnie Wagon.

 

With our GPS (Garmin Gertie) & Kelly handling the navigation, Pheebs lending moral support, & me driving, we sailed ourselves right through the south side of Chicago without hardly a cuss word for a change.  Traffic flowed smoothly & I’m sure us Country Bumpkins showed those City Slickers a thing or two.  We just up & blowed Chicago’s doors off.

PHEEBS WAS JUST GOING BONKERS RACING AROUND ON ALL THE SOFT GREEN GRASS AT THE REST AREAS ALONG THE WAY

We decided early on to take the toll road right from it’s Western End south of Chicago all the way to highway 69 north of Angola.  This is the third time we have used this toll road as opposed to going up through Gary Indiana, Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo, etc. like we have a few times before.  Had we gone that way we would have been mired in the Friday afternoon rush along that corridor.  Although the toll road cost us $23, in my opinion it is well worth the aggravation it saves.  No heavy traffic congestion, just a nice relaxing drive from Chicago to highway 69.  MapQuest says we logged in 525 miles today.

PASSING ELKHART INDIANA WHERE MOST ALL RV’S ARE MADE

  

CLIMBING OFF THE TOLL ROAD NORTH OF ANGOLA MICHIGAN

Before reaching the end of the toll road I knew we had enough energy left to make it North on 69 to Lansing Michigan where we knew a Cracker Barrel was awaiting us.  We have been to this one half a dozen times before.  Moved our clocks ahead another hour & rolled into Cracker Barrel at 6:30 Ontario time.  Of course all the 4 wheelers were parked in the RV/Bus spots & the place was packed.  (we found a quiet spot around the back)  It was Friday afternoon & that’s always a big ‘feed bag’ time for a lot of folks.  Including us tonight.  It will be our last Cracker Barrel stop until we return to the States probably sometime in October.  I’ve already forgot what I had for supper but it sure was good.

OUR OVERNIGHT SPOT AT CRACKER BARREL

Pretty darn nice feeling knowing we are now only 186 miles from home.  Won’t take us long to reach the border in the morning & from there it is only an hour & twenty minute drive home.  And that includes are annual tradition of stopping at Tim Hortons in Forrest Ontario for what most of we Canadians consider to be the best cup of coffee on the Planet.  Of course opinions may differ, but really……………….

CRACKER BARREL:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A couple Air Traffic Control Goodies::

The controller working a busy pattern told the 727 on downwind to make a 360. The pilot of the 727 complained, "Do you know it costs us two thousand dollars to make a 360 in this airplane?" Without missing a beat the controller replied, "Roger, give me four thousand dollars worth."

---

A DC-10 had an exceedingly long landing rollout after landing with his approach speed just a little to high... San Jose Tower: "American 751 Heavy, turn right at the end if able. If not able, take the next exit off of Highway 101 back to the airport.

---

Tower: "Eastern 702, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on 124.7" Eastern 702: "Tower, Eastern 702 switching to Departure... by the way, as we lifted off we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway." Tower: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on 124.7... did you copy the report from Eastern?" Continental 635: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff... and yes, we copied Eastern and we've already notified our caterers."

CONCORDIA KANSAS TO ALTOONA IOWA FIGHTING A NASTY HEAD & CHEST COLD ALL THE WAY

DIDN’T HAVE A LOT OF PHOTOS FOR TONIGHT’S POST SO WALKED OVER TO WAL-MART’S GARDEN CENTER & TOOK A PICTURE OF THEIR MULCH ALONG WITH SOME FLOWERS

Not a good night.  Been fighting a chest cold since the day we left Congress & each day it has been getting steadily worse with a lot of hacking, wheezing, & congested coughing.  Last night it moved up into my throat & head making for very little sleep.  Throat felt like I had swallowed a package of razor blades this morning.  With all those little miseries going on it made for a long driving day.

Clouds had moved in during the night & temperatures dropped.  We were on the road about 8:10 & fought a nasty head wind all the way up highway 81 to York Nebraska where we picked up I-80.  Of course as soon as I swung Winnie’s nose to the East we commenced fighting a tricky cross wind for the rest of the day.  Fortunately I-80 traffic was light.  Not a lot I can tell you about our day.  We just kept slogging East.  However, since pulling out of ‘Army Tank’ Park this morning I had one thought in mind.  One destination…..Cracker Barrel:)) 

Figured for sure there would be a Cracker Barrel in Lincoln Nebraska & sure enough there was.  Kelly looked it up & we rolled off I-80 at exit 403 around noon.  Thursday special was Turkey & dressing with mashed potatoes & gravy.  Right up my alley & of course buns & corn bred.  We both had the Turkey special.  What a pleasant Oasis those Cracker Barrels are for us on long traveling days.  Always like the ambience there.  Hank Williams was belting out Honky Tonk Blues when we walked in.  Cracker Barrels always make me feel better & I was sure needing some feeling better this morning.  My razor blade throat finally cleared up.  Just dealing with head stuffiness tonight & a bit of fatigue.  Have a feeling with a good night’s sleep tonight I will start pulling out of this shortly.

Our day remained windy, on the cold side, & cloud covered.  No problems rolling through Omaha Nebraska or Des Moines Iowa.  Kelly looked up a Wal-Mart location on the East side of Des Moines & came up with one in Altoona south of I-80 & the big Bass Pro Shop.  What a great feeling it always is at the end of long traveling days to pull in somewhere, shut things down, & just go back into the coach & sit down on our couch.  Because we are self contained I don’t have to bother with hooking up water & electric.  I sure like that.

  

A FEW THINGS SEEN ALONG THE WAY LIKE A DANDELION & A DINOSAUR EATING A TREE

 

A CAR WITH SOME OUCHIES & PAINTED SILOS IN DES MOINES

   

A DRIVE-IN MOVIE THEATER & AN OLD BUILDING OF SOME KIND

 

AND LET’S NOT FORGET BEAUTY & THE BEAST

Our scenery didn’t change a whole lot today.  The hills were a bit higher & the grades longer but the countryside along our route is basically flat.  And at this time of year with no leaves on the trees & no crops in the fields the word boring comes to mind.  Plus it was overcast & dull. Yes, we  sure do miss the mountains of the South-West.  Update::  We did finish the day in sunshine & warmer temps here in Wal-Mart’s parking lot in Altoona Iowa:))

EVEN PHEEBS WAS BORED WITH THE SAME OLD-SAME OLD FLAT SCENERY

Because we are off the road on the early side today & I don’t have a whole bunch of photos to edit so maybe I can make a start at getting caught up on all the kind emails people have sent in recently.  Not meaning to ignore anyone, it’s just these long traveling days kind of knock the stuffings out of me sometimes. & putting a post together at the end of each day occasionally leaves my limited energy levels depleted.  And I also found out today thanks to a reader my short term memory has let me down again.  Had put 6 reader emails in a special folder a couple weeks ago to remind myself not to forget to answer them & then promptly forgot to answer them.  I get so frustrated with myself when I do things like that!!!!  I will get those emails caught up when we get home & if I forget again Kelly said there is going to be some very big trouble headed my way…………

Looks like we have some snarly weather setting in for Sunday.  Rain!!  Plan right now is to be home sometime Saturday & at least get the rig half unloaded just in case we have us a downpour.  Don’t want to be carrying things in the house with a cold rain coming down & don’t want to be driving home in rain either if we can help it.

HEY TOM I GOT A ROLLER COASTER FOR YA TODAY:))

We will probably just bite the bullet & brutally fight our way though Chicago traffic Friday.  No way around it.  May just as well meet the Beast head on & deal with it.  We’ve had to do it before:((

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Honorable Secretary of Agriculture Washington, D.C.

Dear Sir;

My friend, Ed Peterson, over at Wells Iowa, received a check for $1,000 from the government for not raising hogs. So, I want to go into the "not raising hogs" business next year.

What I want to know is, in your opinion, what is the best kind of farm not to raise hogs on, and what is the best breed of hogs not to raise? I want to be sure that I approach this endeavor in keeping with all governmental policies. I would prefer not to raise razorbacks, but if that is not a good breed not to raise, then I will just as gladly not raise Yorkshires or Durocs.

As I see it, the hardest part of this program will be in keeping an accurate inventory of how many hogs I haven't raised.

My friend, Peterson, is very joyful about the future of the business. He has been raising hogs for twenty years or so, and the best he ever made on them was $422 in 1968, until this year when he got your check for $1000 for not raising hogs.

If I get $1000 for not raising 50 hogs, will I get $2000 for not raising 100 hogs? I plan to operate on a small scale at first, holding myself down to about 4000 hogs not raised, which will mean about $80,000 the first year. Then I can afford an airplane.

Now another thing, these hogs I will not raise will not eat 100,000 bushels of corn. I understand that you also pay farmers for not raising corn and wheat. Will I qualify for payments for not raising wheat and corn not to feed the 4000 hogs I am not going to raise?

Also, I am considering the "not milking cows" business, so send me any information you have on that too.

In view of these circumstances, you understand that I will be totally unemployed and plan to file for unemployment and food stamps.

Be assured you will have my vote in the coming election.

Patriotically Yours,

PS: Would you please notify me when you plan to distribute more free cheese.