Sep 3, 2020 - Crivitz WI

Tuesday was our day to head north into the wilds of Wisconsin on our journey to northern Michigan. We pulled onto I-90 and headed back west, then it turned north and we jumped onto U.S. 151 near Madison and then on to I-41 near Fon du Lac, through Oshkosh, Appleton and Green Bay till we ran out of interstate and it became U.S. 141. We pulled into the Peshtigo River Campground in Crivitz (what’s a Crivitz?), about an hour north of Green Bay just about 2:30 and settled in for the next 2 nights. No clue what we’re gonna do here, but maybe...

Aug 27, 2020 - Kieler WI

We headed out of Des Moines just a little after 10:00 Monday morning and headed east on I-80 and then zig-zagged northeast past Cedar Rapids till we crossed eastbound over the Mississippi River – for the first time in over 16 months – and landed in Kieler, Wisconsin so we could play tourist around Dubuque, Iowa for a couple days. The trip was good, but the scenery was not. Back on August 10th the Midwest was struck by a derecho, a line of strong thunderstorms with devastating winds...

Aug 13, 2020 - Truck Country

We are at a Freightliner repair place in Dubuque. As we drove to kieler the tag axle warning light came on and would not go off. We were afraid it would not do that again so I it could be diagnosed, but when we got to truck Country it did stay on. We were there at 8, hoping it could be fixed and we would be on our way. After about an hour they started to look at it in the parking lot, sent out a mechanic who had never seen an RV before. Then changed us out to their top tech who pulled us into the bay and let us stay in the Eagle with the...

Aug 12, 2020 - Ulysses S. Grant Home and Fenelon Elevator

Yesterday we went to the Freightliner place to check it all out. The hookups for electric are 110 and 220. Not what we thought they would be. They will take us Thursday and hopefully we will get them to hook up to electric in the bay so Birti and Manny can have some air. We drove around Dubuque and got the truck washed. So many hills and cliffs in town, looks interesting for another year when we have time. I also drove to Platteville and the drive there is scenic as well - many rolling hills and cliffs. The sky is clear blue - was really...

Aug 10, 2020 - Rustic Barn Campground

What a day. First the check tag light came on as we were ready to leave Leisure Lake but went off as Ray ran the engine. The routing from Rand McNally took us on back roads off the interstate that were good until we were in Wisconsin. We stopped for lunch and fuel at a Petro that had a Nussbaum truck parked there - we’ve seen them on the road but I was able to take a photo for Joel. Then the sky turned black and a tornado warning came on the phone as we drove out of Rockford, IL. There was some hail, torrential rain and the GPS put us on a...

Mar 23, 2020 - Big Rivers - Oshkosh B'Gosh!

Monday March 23 was our “home stretch” day, so we were up and raring to go by 5:00. This far west in the Central time zone meant it was darn dark - and stayed that way for quite awhile. The Comfort Suites may not have had breakfast but they did have a fully functional ice machine - we still had to keep Jill’s meds (and my Pacifico) properly refrigerated for this grand finale. In another piece of good news, the final pair of Jill’s sugar rolls were still growth free, so into the microwave (and then into me) they went. Mmmmm-good! The Iowa...

Jan 15, 2020 - Settling in

Well, we’ve finally moved in! The movers had us moved in on January 2nd and were able to stay our first night. An area rug was arriving the 3rd so we were unable to stay in the master bedroom and we slept in the lower level. It’s been a busy 10 days. We’ve had to sign off our other house which closed on Jan 10th. Monday I had surgery on my hip so the timing of it all has worked out well. We are now putting things back together and hanging pictures etc. So the 4 month project has come to an end. I will try to piece together a “before/after”...

Jan 1, 2020 - Happy New Year

Ann and I would like to wish you a belated Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year! I am sorry I didn’t get the cards out this year...heck, I don’t even know where they are. We are so disorganized now with all the moving of things that I pretty much wear the same close daily. Ah, no, not the undies or socks...I know you were thinking it. Well, tomorrow is our big move. After I finish this segment of the journal, we will crawl in bed for the last time in the bedroom we’ve been in for 27 years. I guess we should be feeling sad about it. But...

Dec 19, 2019 - So close, so close and yet so far

There’s not a ton of new things to report. Mostly we have all the painting and baseboard back on in the lower level so we are now ready for the carpet. We were able to move our install to December 26-27. We’ve also spent the past couple of days cleaning rooms and installing all the appliances. The gas cooktop was the trickiest but with a little help from my friend Mark and a few trips to Home Depot and Menards, we were able to make it work. The electrician is nearing completion. He has most of the major items done and just has a few...

Dec 15, 2019 - Goodbye Christmas - Hello Madtown

Faithful readers will recall that my lovely bride is one of the people the fictional Yogi Yorgesson may have had in mind with his old song, “I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas”. While very tastefully and beautifully done, to say that our house is well decorated for Christmas is a bit of an understatement. Truth be told, my primary responsibilities in creating this beautiful holiday home revolve around my height and my strength (clearly a relative term in my case). I would estimate that Jill has about 15 large tubs of holiday decor and my sole job...

Dec 14, 2019 - Where Did All this Stuff Come From?

Once we had all the hassle with the CR-V and hologram behind us, Jill and I could concentrate on our two most important remaining responsibilities: packing up all our stuff and our upcoming family Christmas. The 2019-2020 version is our 15th driving trip to and from Mexico since I retired (16th if you count the 3 week back and forth in early 2008 when Jill’s mom had a heart attack). When we had the motor home with all its storage space, we didn’t worry too much about the crap we were hauling for that 6500 miles roundtrip. Since we have...

Dec 13, 2019 - Countertops and appliances have arrived

We’ve had a very good week! The cabinets are now finished. The countertops and sinks are now in. The appliances have arrived. The plumber finished all of his work. And, the lower level is nearing completion to be ready for carpet install. Ann and I have worked hard to get the lower level ready for carpet. The installation is scheduled for 12/30 & 31. In one week we were able to complete all the painting. I am just finishing the re-install of the baseboard and the caulk and paint. Carpet will be welcome down there for warmth and...