Before Leaving Home....

We  had the RV inspected and coolant changed with a cooling system flush at Minuteman Ford.  I changed engine oil & filter, greased 12 fittings (including 4 U joint fittings with tight access that did not appear to have been adequately greased last time; I bought a special needle fitting for my grease gun to do it at a NAPA auto parts store, it works EXCELLENTLY), changed generator oil, filter, air filter, prefilter before leaving; Generator hours 295.5.  Have appointment with Camping World Bolingcreek IL Wed Oct 8 2PM for installation of the Bilstein shocks we have.

October 2 through October 9, 2003

Thursday October 2:

Filled fuel, returned items to Autozone, then headed out.  Weather was nice as we left, but ran into squalls in western MA, that continued into New York.  We had snow showers mixed with rain as we reached the Street Atlas chosen exit for Oneonta, with a few flakes blowing on the road.  It was not slippery, but we did not find Walmart where directions said either.  We had been here before...this is FRUSTRATING as we mill in narrow streets with heavy traffic. We had been to this place BEFORE, and found it easily!  We finally recalled that we had gotten the directions from Next Exit book, and looked it up there...the exit we had been directed to by Street Atlas was 2 exits west of the one in the next exit!  GRRRRR!  We found our way back onto I-88, and after another turn around, got onto the correct exit and found Walmart.  We were happy to shut down, pull the curtains and relax.  Claire made a delicious vegetable soup with some turkey soup stock we had brought from home.  It was cold and rainy as I stood out letting the steam vent from the pressure cooker...this is a GOOD night to spend at "home".  We can shop in the morning!  We turned the heat on as soon as the cooking heat faded, and before bedtime it started to run.  Outside temperature was near 40, with forecast of frost in some local areas overnight.

Friday October 3:

We drove on through scenic western NY.  The weather was looking gray....

We stopped in Corning with plans to see the Corning glass factory.  We could only find a high priced glass museum, and nobody knew of any factory tours.  We decided to continue on to Erie PA for the night.  We came into Erie looking for Sams, but Claire saw Walmart first, so we stayed there.  The weather came up VERY windy as she cooked an eggs/potato dish on the stovetop.  We intended to shop after dinner, but the wind was blowing so bad we decided to turn in instead.  There was enough wind to keep the RV rocking, and the heat was welcome again;  it was raining heavily in the morning when I got up to go on line.  

 Saturday October 4:

Rain delayed our start on a planned tour of Erie's Presque Isle state park.  We shopped, and heavy hail fell when we came out of Sam's.  We decided to eat lunch in Sam's lot, and the sun peeped through before we finished.  The part of Erie near the lake seemed like time had frozen in the 1950's.  All the new development was near the interstate highway, with modern shopping centers everywhere.  The lakeside buildings were old.

The park was nice, the northerly wind blew high waves on the lakeside beaches.  It reminded us very much of the ocean.

In the center of the picture a lake ship sails.  The sand dunes protect the island land, which in turn protects the waterfront of the city of Erie.  We then drove to Toledo, stopping at the Ohio tourist info center on the way.   The Flying J had place for us outside their parking area in a driveway due to construction.  Dinner was Claire's vegetarian marinara  spaghetti sauce.

Sunday October 5:

We awoke to sunny day.  After a leisurely morning with showers, we dumped and filled water, then departed to look over Toledo.  There was much road construction and we found many narrow downtown streets restricted against vehicles over 6000 pounds.  We were forced back onto the interstates.  We did notice that although many downtown houses were small and old, and the area did not appear affluent, it was generally clean and appeared well kept.  We looked for the Metropark that Claire had found reference to in a guidebook.  As we moved to the west side of town, the homes became more like we would expect in affluent modern suburbia.  They were extremely attractively kept.  The park was beautiful!  It had a pavilion for events, with parking restrictions posted.  We asked a passerby where we could park to bike;  he said nobody would bother us here, and if they did, to tell them we know Rome Marinelli (www.romemarinelli.com).  He said he was a MAJOR contributor to the park and gave us his card, which we stuck in the window of the RV.  Pull beats luck every time!  :-)  The park was very well kept, with a newly built covered bridge on a wooden trail leading to a black topped rail trail.

 After milling around in circles, we found the right trail and started to bike towards the University of  Toledo 3 miles away.  We were surprised a the number of roller blade skaters using the trail, and they kept right up with the bikers!  

We ran out of energy and time about half way there; we still had over 200 miles to drive and it was past 2 PM.  We returned to the RV and moved out smartly.  The drive was uneventful over almost flat Ohio and Indiana turnpikes, and we found the Gary Flying J without incident, contrasting greatly with last year when we arrived after dark filled with tension after we thought we missed our turn due to misunderstood road signs.  The FJ was CROWDED with gas customers, a genuine ZOO!  We waited patiently in line to fuel while Claire prepared for supper.  The next guy at the pump said the prices pull everybody in.  It was $1.38 here compared to Toledo's $1.33, but evidently Illinois a few miles west is still $1.65.  I took special care to top up to the maximum.  :-)  We pulled around to the RV parking area for the night, and received permission to stay.  Before bed we  had a close neighbor running his generator.  I was up late trying unsuccessfully to clear a message with a 2 meg attachment from my email box.  This is a problem with a cellphone connection, as the battery does not stay charged long enough to download it.  I was unable to delete it before the weekend minutes ran out.  If anyone gets mail bounced due to a full mailbox this week, that is why;  my apologies. Shortly after I went to bed around midnight, the propane detector went off.  The generator exhaust from our neighbor RV was getting into our RV and triggering a false alarm.  Although we could not smell the generator exhaust, we had experienced the problem before, even with our own generator.  We had no choice but to move to a slot further away from the offending generator, driving around a police car in the Flying J lot in pajamas.  :-)  We had no further problem from the propane detector even though a truck pulled in and ran his noisy diesel generator all night next to us.  Diesel evidently burns more completely and does not trigger the propane detector.

 Monday October 6:

We arose late (8 AM) due to our late night.  The furnace ran some in the night, but not a lot.  I quickly increased the temperature to daytime levels, as it seemed cloudy out and a bit damp feeling. After calling Camping World on the chance they could do our shock work earlier, and getting a promise to call us if they had a cancellation, we showered, dumped, and filled water and propane. The propane tank filled completely for the first time in recent memory, as the fill tech trusted the automatic shutoff, which allowed a complete fill before stopping. Most techs open the vent valve and stop it when a bit of liquid mist comes out the vent, resulting in only a 3/4 full tank.  Claire found the Indiana Dunes national seashore park 15 miles away on the map, so we headed there for the day to relax from the continuous travelling we've been doing.  We just did not want to attack getting to Chicago today!  The trip through the center of Gary had its depressing parts; abandoned gas stations with derelict stripped cars, boarded up buildings; but even there the streets were clean, giving the impression the city was trying to do what it could to improve things.  The National Seashore was almost deserted, and they were no longer collecting the posted $6 admission.  All the buildings were closed with no staff visible.  We ate lunch, then walked along the beach.  Claire sampled Lake Erie, pronouncing the temperature "almost swimmable".  The beach was magnificent, fine tan sand, blue water with little white waves, and the Chicago skyline clearly visible across the lake. 

We returned on a mile boardwalk loop over the dunes.  One of the few passers-by mentioned the workout we were getting on the stairs over the really big dunes.  

We did not think much about it then, but soon we were sitting down at every opportunity.   The sun was warm and conducive to an afternoon nap on the benches, but Claire insisted I keep going on...  :-)  We got back mid afternoon and moved the RV to the edge of the empty parking lot where Purry could walk.  He did not stray far from the RV; these days he seems content to drag his leash as he wanders at a slow walk, only moving to a trot if he wants to return hurriedly to the safety of the RV.  I think I understand that, as he is now older than I am in "Cat Years";  I now save my energy for when it is needed too!   Claire pressure cooked black beans for dinner;  the pressure cooker is especially good on cool days in the RV, as it keeps cooking steam to a minimum.  Less steam, less condensation on the windows and less ventilation needed!  We ate, washed up dishes, then left in the early evening to drive into the setting sun to our selected overnight at Sams or Walmart in Lansing IL.  This was directly on our route to Camping World and about 20 miles away.  As we approached the Indiana/Illinois state line, we decided to stop in the Indiana Tourist Info Center to look for more info on touring Chicago.  They recommended a train from their area, but also mentioned the presentation by the Tuskeegee Airmen going on in 30 minutes.  We decided to stay, having heard about the Tuskeegee group's performance flying fighter escort for bombing missions from Claire's Dad;  they never lost a bomber under their escort, while over 100,000 bomber men died when their planes went down.  We toured the Info Center's quite exceptional exhibit on flight (commemorating the 100th anniversary of flight).  We struck up conversation with two well dressed black gentlemen looking over the exhibit, who turned out to be WW II Tuskeegee Airmen and speakers for the evening's presentation.  I was struck by their youthful appearance (considering the ages they MUST be to have participated in WW II).  The young one was 76, and had trained as a Tuskeegee Airman near the war's end, then flown 100 combat missions in jets in the Korean war. The older, Dr Quenton Smith, who turned out to be the main speaker for the evening, was 82.  

 Both were articulate and we talked for quite some time, there being few others in the room.  The older had a college education before enlisting, and I was struck by his story about their group being forbidden to use the officer's club at one of their bases.  The group were trained pilots and army officers, and he and over 100 others were court martialed for  refusing to sign a document recognizing their restrictions on base.  Only presidential intervention released them, and then they were counseled to accept an honorable discharge rather than staying in the Army with the incident in their records.  What a ridiculous waste of needed trained manpower in wartime!   This is one of the most prominent prejudice based mistreatments of the airmen during the war, among many.  It was hard for the unit to get assigned overseas, as the theater commanders did not want them.  Only after they were in action, and bomber crews saw their performance, did they start requesting their uniquely identified red tailed escorts in preference to all others.  Claire's Uncle Ted was lost in a bomber in WW II, so her family was aware of the contribution of the Tuskeegee airmen, and I'm sure wished there were many more of them!  They were even rotated home if they got 4 Kills, so no black man could become an "ace"!  What a WASTE of talent!!!  It occurs to me that the mis-emphasis on "ace" rather than protection of the bombers was a serious failing of the Army Air Corps high command.  The Tuskeegee fliers were unsure of their acceptance, thus DID their defined job, while many other fighter pilots left their bombers unescorted to go chasing their "ace".    When we finished talking with Dr Smith, we were approached by a reporter for the Indiana Post Tribune who was covering the event.  She wondered how we had heard about it, and why we had stayed to see it.  She was black; we had a discussion with her about racial prejudice, and she said she feels now it is not as obvious, but is still there, and is often harder to deal with when it is hidden than out in the open.  Hopefully we can find a copy of her article, as she said it would appear in the October 7 issue and we would be mentioned in it.  :-)  It is fun  to just 'happen" into these "Living History" events;  I am still impressed by the Navajo Code Talkers we met in Gallop NM, and now we get the chance to meet these amazing pilots. A recurring theme from the speakers was how hard the Army tried to wash them out of the training, and of the 3 day physical exam that preceded it.  It seems that the condition of these men in their later years may reflect the selection of only the very healthiest  through that excessively rigorous selection process.  They indeed are exceptionally articulate and physically fit for people of their age!  Their accomplishments were not recognized until well after the war was over, and they had to endure repeated racial insults from the Army command to get into combat, but sure proved they were up to the task.  The presentation included a talk by a young instructor pilot who leads a program sponsored by the Tuskeegee Airman's association to interest inner city youth in flying, and even allows some to get their private pilot's license for $75.  The association is attracting younger "heritage" members from the families of Tuskeegee airmen to keep the group's accomplishments alive in memory, and further interest in aviation among young blacks.  We were MUCH later than expected leaving the Indiana Tourist Information Center, but found Sam's Club in Lansing easily, and received permission to stay the night in their lot.

 Tuesday October 7:

Moved at 9:30 to Tourist info center, left at first light north of I-80 on Torrence.  We inquired about trains to Chicago, and were sent one I-80 exit west for a station that MIGHT have parking.  We picked up a large tourist book covering all of IL, and  also a map that included "Forest Preserves" in the city of Lansing.  We returned again to ask about them, and got directions to one south on Torrence and right on Glenwood-Lansing road to the driveway.  It was DELIGHTFUL; the weather was warm, Indian Summery, and we parked in an almost deserted park.   I finished waxing the drivers side of the RV while Claire cooked squash-lamb soup for supper. We were both feeling like another lazy day, so it worked out perfectly. We're not yet rested enough to tackle Chicago!  Very close to sundown, when the park closed, we moved to Walmart for the night.  I could spend more time in this midwest area.  It is very pleasant and the people are friendly.  I know the winters are not, however, so this is a summer-fall place only!  We shopped Walmart, I found oil filters for the RV, but only a few in stock (I guess this is NOT a pickup truck area, the main user of our filters), and Claire bought some socks.  The customer service lady's husband was retired and an RVer, planning on going to Arizona for the winter while she stayed and worked for insurance coverage...such a deal!  They were still blowing out their last years Walmart map books for 50 cents, anticipating arrival of new ones.  They had few groceries, so I went to an Ultra store next door for our needs.  This store seemed expensive compared to our previous purchases at Walmarts, but we did not need much.  For the first time since we started this trip, the RV was too warm inside when it came bedtime.  Instead of the furnace, we had all overhead vents open.  I guess we do not need to flee this area just yet!  :-)

 Wednesday October 8:

 Awoke at 6AM, and the temperature outside was a warm 64. Today we have a 2 PM appointment for shock installation;  it is SCARY to have something with a time schedule, but we'll have to live with that!  :-)  It is less than an hour's drive away, so we should have no problems.  We decided to do laundry in the morning before driving to Camping World.  Claire found a wet wad of cash (three or 4 bills, one was a 20) in the trash can there, and gave it to a couple with young child that had been nice, without counting it, saying she had found it in the dryer they had just vacated.  We decided to drive local roads rather than the interstates to Camping World, but did not expect the density of traffic we encountered on US 6.  The drive took us over an hour, then the final mile was confused by new development.  We arrived there an hour before our appointment without backtracking, but not by the planned route.  :-)    Camping World was ready for us immediately, so it was a quick lunch. I warned the technician doing the work that there was a cat aboard, then we went to the store to wait.  I perused Camping World's large stock of supplies, and found a little overpriced gadget that promised to solve the problem of leaking garden hose ends, and we bought two.  We have just such a hose at home, and the price of the gadget is much less than a new hose.  Jodi at Camping World was friendly and VERY efficient at her job, but had little encouragement for us finding a nearby train to Chicago with parking for the RV.  She also was unsure of a glass shop who could repair our new windshield crack.  She volunteered to ask her tech.  The shocks were installed for the agreed price of $18 each, and the bill came to $72; no tax, no extras!  :-))  Jodi also said we could stay overnight in the lot.  I told her we would use their facility again.  :-)  When I went back to get her answer on the glass shop after the shocks were installed, another clerk suggested a nearby glass and mirror shop where they send all their work.  When I called them, I found they did not do auto glass at all, but they recommended a shop in Naperville 11 miles away.  They quickly gave us a Thursday 8:30 AM appointment, and an address to find them.  This will be an EARLY start for us, as we decided we needed to roll at 7:15 AM to allow for rush hour traffic, which we observed slowing the I-55 traffic in front of Camping World to a crawl.  Our route will be local streets; hopefully they will  be better. With the early appointment, perhaps we can get a train to Chicago from the Naperville area after the work is complete.  I spent the rest of the afternoon looking under the RV to verify the work had been done properly, and finishing the waxing of the RV, getting the last spot just as the sun sank below the horizon. I noticed there was a lot of dirt already on the surfaces waxed at home, but no place here to wash it off.  Oh well, the oxide is gone so it should wash easily when we do it.  Dinner was left over squash soup and we used the microwave to heat it to keep the RV cooler; this was a HOT day, near 80 degrees outside, and we welcomed the open screen door.  We closed it when the store closed, as the area then appeared pretty unpopulated and isolated.  There were lots of RVs parked here, but none occupied that we could see.  Still, if there was a security problem here, Camping World would not be able to leave them outside without a guard.  I turned in early while Claire watched a bit of TV.

 Thursday October 9:

It was 64 degrees outside under the RV when I awake at 4:15 AM.  All overhead vents had been open all night, and it was comfortable sleeping without the quilt!  I think Indian Summer is NOW in Illinois!  :-)  I wrote the log, then returned to bed until the 6:40 alarm went off.  Now it is time to get ready to roll for our glass appointment.  It is unusual for us to arise at this hour to drive, but it worked out well.  Claire drove out within minutes of our 7:15 plan, with me navigating.  It did not take us long to have to find an "ad-hoc" route, as the computer planned street names did not appear where they should.  The GPS map proved to be more useable, and we did not go too far out of our way.  A few intersections were slow, but the streets were moving well.  We were pleased with the ride on our new shocks as bumps did not seem as threatening; the "thump" was much less, and bumps only thumped once instead of settling out for several cycles as it had before.  As we neared our destination, an SUV driver signaled us we had a problem, and we followed her into a nearby gas station.  She ran to the drivers side window and told us we were approaching a low underpass and our TV antennas was up, then APOLOGIZED for bothering us.....  We thanked her profusely and lowered the antenna.  Again our clothespin antenna warning system had failed us, as we had not moved it when the antenna was raised.  :-((   A few blocks later we found the glass shop.  They were right there to start our job even though we were 30 minutes early.  The man doing the work said there was always a chance the ding would run when he tried to repair it, but the probability was low, as he had not run one in years.  He first took a battery operated dremel tool with a tiny burr to route out the center of the ding, then attached an adhesive ring to surround the ding.  This served to attach a syringe holder into which he put enough polymer liquid to cover the ding, then he heated the area from inside with a butane lighter.  After heating, he placed a spring loaded syringe on the holder that applied air pressure to the polymer, to force it into the crack.  He gave it some time, then removed the syringe and ring, placing a clear flat piece of plastic over the ding, then curing the polymer for about two minutes with a battery powered UV light.  He could then scrape the flat plastic and cured surface polymer off with a razor blade.  A quick clean up with glass cleaner, and we were finished, at about 8:30.  The man suggested we could go to the Naperville train station a few miles away to visit Chicago, or even park for the day on a next door vacant store parking lot if we wanted to bike there.  Claire was feeling a cold coming on and had lost interest in the city trip.  She was more inclined to continue to the Mississippi today; we still had a full day ahead of us.  We muddled our way out of Naperville and found I-80 west.  At the first rest stop, we planned our day; we would seek out a free Corps of Engineers campground mentioned in our old Corps book, located on the east bank of the Mississippi at Lock and Dam 13, 20 miles north of Rock Island IL.  The route was easy, and we found the Lock and Dam 13 with no trouble, but the alleged "campground" had no signs, and was not even mentioned on the Corps of Engineers facility map posted there.  There were parking slots for 5 or six vehicles near toilets, but we were not sure camping was allowed.  We tried calling the posted ranger station, but got voicemail.  There was NO DOUBT that we had reached the Mississippi River and the Great River road which would carry us to the Gulf of Mexico below New Orleans.  

We did try at a store near an info sign; they tried to direct us to a full service facility up river in Thompson, with full service prices.  We finally decided to backtrack to a bridge, and go to a low priced campground (Bulger's Hollow) across the river in Iowa.  We found the campground quite pretty, but surprisingly it is unoccupied.  The fall colors are coming on and the river here is 3 miles wide!

We picked out a level site, and when I looked to pay, found that this place was free after Sept 15!  ;-)  The lady bugs that had been attracted to the RV in Lansing were even MORE numerous here, crawling all over the RV and getting inside too.  

 I did not believe the lady in Lansing who said they bit her, but NOW I do;  THEY BITE!  Not real bad, and not leaving a welt, but QUITE noticeable.  There were a few cars at the boat ramp, and a lady reading on the shore while her young boy fished.  A man drove up, and we talked about how the shallows behind the dam were filling in, ruining the fishing.  Before the dam was built, the land was cornfields, and in years to come the silt washing down the river would fill it in again, at a higher level.  He also told of his desire to retire, but his retiree health plan had a $50,000 lifetime limit, and he did not think that was adequate for his diabetic condition.  I doubt that would be adequate for ANY condition with today's medical costs!  Such decisions to have to make....  :-(   As I left to return to the RV for dinner, a strange looking craft approached the ramp; I have my first up close and personal look at a duck blind!

 The season opens Saturday, and folks here are PREPARING!  We had heard shots earlier in the woods behind the campground; either someone checking out their shotgun, or a squirrel hunter the guys from the blind said.  Dinner tonight was half a bowl of left over soup and burritos with left over beans.  It was delicious and filling, and after dishes I was ready to turn in.  This campground is QUIET...except for the rare train passing 100 feet away.  :-)

 Plans:  We've taken an extra lazy day in Bulger's Hollow, and a ranger who drove by said we would not find a prettier spot up and down the river.  We will meander south with the Mississippi River as weather pushes us; Sunday the weather in this area is expected to return to seasonal, ending our pleasant respite with Indian Summer.  We plan to stop in Le Claire IA (we really must see THAT.... :-)  ) then tour Rock Island Arsenal if they do not need to search the RV so hard we must unpack everything, and the John Deere factory in Moline IL.  From there we will go on down St Louis way and see how hard it is to get into THAT city...  Our travel schedules are not yet too firm, but this weekend we MUST arrange for storage and rental car home for Thanksgiving, then it gets much firmer.  Until next time...  ENJOY!!  We are!