ELEVEN DAYS AND COUNTING ...

Being a bit superstitious (just a tiny little bit … one can’t be too careful) I rarely blog about what we are going to do (aka plans!) but I will make an exception so that anyone who has been hoping for almost three months to drop by and say “Hi” and hasn’t made it yet, will know … it is now or not again for two years. TWO YEARS!!! Did I say “two years?” Yup! That is Joy and Phil’s newest proposal as it has sat on the back burner and coagulated for the past six months. South then east and up through the Midwest; Niagara Falls and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Mackinac Island and that magnificent Bridge) are calling my name; then, on to the eastern seaboard and south again—slow and steady—stopping and smelling the roses—conserving fuel by inching our way over and back ... up and down; Washington DC (maybe my favorite city in our country) at a crawl and peeking in the nooks and crannies of the USA. My dream trip!

For a very long time I have been covertly creating a notebook in WORD which includes the sights and sounds, tourist traps and ... off the beaten path attractions in every state as I hear or read about them. This little tome will come in very handy now that the powers that be have put this idea into motion. We have seen many of the most famous sights (and will check out some of those again) but this trip we intend to slow way down and finagle our way into the heart of America. We will search out places to park our Penny the Pace by a lake, river or larger body of water where Phil can fish and I can write; where we can drive the back roads and meet the people who are the backbone of this country. Using our “Carmen” (Garmin GPS), we will ferret out local garage sales; check out flea and farmer’s markets, sample food in local eateries often unknown to travelers, meander through county fairs and whoop and holler at any rodeos we come across. My top sources for these locations have been other RVing bloggers who are traveling and sharing their experiences. The magazines we receive from all our membership travel/camping clubs are also filled with ideas and our favorites, the Food and Travel channels takes us vicariously to many wonderful places we might look up as well. Of course, we are looking forward to visiting family and doing a little genealogy digging along the way. Look out folks, here we come!

Again, we have had a busy week. Phil and Les arrived home on Monday after a very successful and enjoyable week of fishing. Lester’s grandson, Sam, (14 years old) was with them and a fine time was had by all three of these fishing fellows. I worked on my picture framing project and we went to Wal*Mart to pick up a prescription and replenish the pantry. Our dear friends, Joan and Charlie dropped by for the afternoon on Tuesday and we have tentatively planned getting together again in the next week for dinner. I cleaned and organized the pantry on Wednesday and dug out the dinette where everything without a permanent home seems to accumulate when we hunker down for any extended length of time and I started the chore of washing the inside of Penny’s windows.

On Thursday I finished my framing project and we drove to Olympia and delivered the new (to her) computer to sister, Dixie. Phil got it set up in her living room and now she will have her grandson, Andy come over and transfer software and programs from the upstairs computer to this one. I gave her my former 17” flat screen (which you may recall was beginning to act up and I replaced not too long ago). We hope it will last a while longer because it takes up so much less room and with Dixie’s vision problems it is much easier to see. Before we leave, I will also give her my four year old but very reliable HP 3 in 1 printer as I have been wanting a new one for some time now. Phil received a phone call from his doctor regarding his blood work up. The statins he has taken over the past couple years have all caused him some muscle discomfort so he had stopped taking them after a week or so. However, as a result, his cholesterol level is too high so medication is a must and he will keep trying until he finds one that he can take without complications.

We worked on cleaning and polishing Penny’s cab area and dashboard on Friday. We also washed the inside of the windshield and the side windows and he has replaced her water line filter and gas line filter and marked those chores off his list. Then Phil cleaned out the bed of The Lone Ranger in preparation for loading. Yesterday, our sweet granddaughter, Sara finally came by and spent the afternoon and we took her out to dinner with us. We had a great visit and she has promised to come back again before we leave. It seems like yesterday when she was born and she will be 21 years old in just a couple days! Whew! That was our week and here are few pictures …