Last Full Month Here.......

Monday September 2- It was another long day here at the park. The long holiday weekend ends today. We watched as the campers rolled out. We still have 11 campers here but most of those go to work everyday. Some don't even come out in the evening. After doing my cleaning tasks at the shower house I came back and did some cleaning here. Since our frig is empty I took advantage and cleaned everything in it. I took out all the rack, drawers, and glass shelves. It is the cleanest it has been for a long while.


Tuesday September 3- Jeff got on the phone first thing to get an appointment set to fix our frig. He was hoping we could get in next Tuesday but it's going to be Thursday instead. So we have another week without our frig....yikes. Oh well I guess that's why they call it camping. We went back to the church today to help with the food pantry. They get food donated and we bag it up and stock up the shelves for the people to come in tomorrow. After we finished we did a Walmart run. Then Jeff went to a movie and I went to the quilt store and a few shops. I was finished and waiting for him when the movie let out.  Then before going home we stopped at the store.


Wednesday September 4- Happy 3rd Anniversary to our son Justin and wifey Molly.

Jeff had an appointment set to take the truck in today. The service engine soon light came on last week. He had it tested and they said it was a sensor. Well Jeff looked it up and saw that its was under warranty so had to call a GM dealer. Well when he started the truck today the light wasn't on, it had reset. He went anyway and they said that if the light wasn't on they could scan it and see what was wrong but we would have to pay for that. So Jeff came on back and we will wait for it to come back on. Maybe just sitting around isn't all that healthy for the truck. It was really nice day. It was sunny but there was a feel of fall in the air. Jeff did some waxing on the rig. Then we met Justin at his house when they got off work. They were going out for dinner for there anniversary. We took Maddyn and went out to eat as well. Then we stopped by and saw Ashton and Hailey before bringing her home.

Thursday September 5- Happy 14th Birthday to our grandson Ashton. We can't believe he is 14 years old. This is a picture right after he was born. He has brought so much joy to our lives. Now he is older and busy so we don't get to see him as much. We stayed around the park today. It was a nice day again. I took Ruby for a nice long walk. Then I did some laundry here. I like to run our washer every once in a while to keep it working. I did some cleaning outside too. We have some family coming up to camp today. Our niece Lindsay, her husband Cody and there 2 kids Gabe and Alice. After they set up we did some visiting. We don't see them that often so it was nice to get some one on one time with them.

Friday September 6- Up early to clean. We had company first thing because someone forgot to pack coffee. So we sat and talked for quite awhile. We sat outside and enjoyed the wonderful weather. Then we ran to town to take back some books and movies to the 2nd hand book store. Then we went to Five Guys for lunch. We have decided that neither of us care for this Five Guys. Then we needed to stop at the store to get things for a family/birthday cookout on Saturday. We also needed ice...again. I made Ashton a birthday cake. I had extra batter so I made some cupcakes. I gave those to our visitors. We finished the night with a fire.

Saturday September 7- I got busy this morning frosting and decorating Ashton's cake. Then I got out all of our chairs. We had more family show up Fritz and Shawn, Jeff's brother and wife and Lindsay's parents. So had to visit more. They left for lunch and I made apple crisp for the party. Then we watched the scores on the Iowa Hawkeye game. They won! When the game was over that was when the party was to start. It was a bit cloudy today and it didn't rain to much but we did get some sprinkles on the party and as it was finishing up the rain picked up. We had a very simple menu because of the no frig thing. It didn't matter though I think it went great. Ashton brought some of his friends too.

 After eating and having cake Ashton and his friends went for a walk. That's when the rain started. Well people started leaving and Seth and Katie were getting ready to go but no Ashton and friends. Tried calling and no answer. Finally got through and they went on a trail and I think they got turned around and didn't know where they were. Well he found a street sign and Seth went and got them. They were all wet and the girls were cold. They all came up and thanked us for inviting them. They were very polite. All went well except that one little hiccup at the end. So everyone headed home and we went inside. It rained the rest of the evening. We didn't get rained out so we were happy with that.



Sunday September 8- We got up and went to church. An early Sunday because we are greeting today. Then after the service we were invited to join the people that help with the food pantry for a mexican lunch. They had it catered in. We got to meet everyone that helps with this ministry. Some we have met and others not. It was a nice time. Then we headed back home and it was a gloomy gray day.

Monday September 9- Started off the day with some rain. Then we cleaned the shower house good after the weekend. When the rain stopped we started loading the bikes and moving stuff out of the way . Tomorrow we leave for Davenport and from there on to Shipshewana Indiana to get our frig worked on. While cleaning out the tool box on the back of the truck we came across quite the mess. We had purchased a 2 quart container of oil that had a leak in it. We put it in another container that also had a leak. We didn't know that so in the bottom of this box was 2 quarts of oil. We also store our hobie stuff in there. So our sails, were soaked in oil. The containers that hold them are not water or oil proof. We had a huge mess. Oil on lots of stuff and cleaning that up was quite a shore. Good thing we started early getting stuff ready. We had a little more rain on and off. Then by evening we were watching the weather because there was severe weather in the area.


Tuesday September 10- Well we did have some weather last night. I had gone to bed and was sound asleep when I hear someone pounding on our door. Well the power was off. I didn't know it because usually the frig chirps. Since its turned off no noise. This time it was a camper pounding on our door. I got up and they wanted to know who should we call. I told them I would give them a call. I couldn't get back to sleep. The power was off for about an hour. Then after that it started pouring rain. So then again I couldn't get to sleep. When morning arrived we got busy hooking up to drive to Davenport Iowa. We are staying at West Lake Park. We left here at 9:30 and arrived there before lunch. It was a short trip but it made our trip tomorrow more doable. After setting up we went to look at camping world. It is just down the road from here. It is actually the place we purchased our rig. When we bought it it was Thompson's RV. They have since sold it and I think it's going downhill a bit. Before it was a family owned business that has been around awhile. They really took pride in there business. After that we went to dinner at the Cracker Barrel. We usually get the same thing and it is always really good. Today was not a disappointment. Our meal was really good. The waitress was a bit slow. After eating we filled up the truck getting ready for the long trip tomorrow.

our site at West Lake Park

Wednesday September 11- We were up and on the road by 8 a.m. We were on interstate roads but the bumps and pot holes were crazy. We would stop and check inside the rig to make sure things were ok. First thing was it knocked the calender off the wall. It is a board that is put on with command strips. That wasn't a big deal but it gets better. When we arrived in Indiana at the campground that's when we noticed more problems. First off I had 4 wasps in the window I needed to kill. Well I had to contain the dogs first so they wouldn't go after them. Then I notice that the valance over the kitchen table is hanging on by one screw. Gonna have to fix that. I go around to feed the dogs and notice something spilled on the floor by the kitchen sink. After looking more closely I see that one of our big bottles of Dawn soap has been tipped over. On the way over it popped open the lid. Yep we have had soap dripping for I don't know how long. Well I got busy cleaning that up. It ran down the cabinet door. It ran down from the top shelve to the bottom shelve. It was a mess to clean up. Then later on in the day Jeff noticed that one of the blinds had been popped out on one side. We had a heck of a time trying to get it back up. Oh yeah did I mention that it is like 90 degrees outside? After setting up and cleaning up we went to see were the repair shop is located. It was only a couple miles away. Then we came back and I made us breakfast for supper. We also walked around and checked out the campground. We are staying at Shipshewana Campground South Park.

We are definitely in Amish country. We also have some very sweet little neighbors.

Thursday September 12- We got up, hooked up and made our way to J.C. Refrigeration. We drove it in to the big parking lot and noticed no cars in the lot. There were a lot of bicycles parked in the front. That's what they drove to work.

We went inside and checked in. We had to wait just a bit. They only do one unit at a time. So when they finished the 8 o'clock appointment we pulled in. Then we unhooked so we could go do some exploring in town while they worked. We found out that they start work at 4 am. They only schedule 3 appointments a day. They have a 6 a.m., 8 a.m., and a 10 a.m. So we left there and headed to town.

When we were driving through town earlier I spotted some shops I wanted to check out. They had lots of craft stuff. I saw a quilt store named Lolly's I wanted to see. Jeff dropped me off and he and the dogs went looking too. We met up later.

After walking around downtown and checking out some of the shops Jeff and I met up and headed back to see about the rig. We were gone for 2 1/2 hours. They told us 3 hours. When we arrived they were done. Jeff went in to pay and along with the receipt was a Amish cookbook. They give them out for free....bonus. Then we hooked up and took her back to the park. We set back up and I went to take Ruby for a walk. The horses were close to the fence. I noticed this white one so I went to check it out. She had one blue eye...cool.




















We cleaned up and headed back to town to have supper and top off the truck with fuel. We decided to eat at The Blue Gate. We were eating early but so were a lot of others. Jeff had a chicken pot pie and I had fried chicken. Both were really good. We got a piece of pecan pie to take home which turned out to be really good.

Friday September 13- Woke up early to get on the road early. We were on the road by 6:30 Iowa time. We went back a little bit different way. We jumped on the interstate earlier. We thought that would help out. It was better driving but they charged us $28.30 to ride on it for 90 minutes. Ouch... Then we were hoping that the road wouldn't be quite as rough going back, well it was. I think we prepared better. Also the traffic was so bad we had to go slow. We had some rain but nothing too bad. The wind was the worst. We both agreed that we would try to make it back to Palo. It is longer than we like but all this unhooking and hooking up is been crazy. The good thing is the last part of the trip the roads were good. We had used almost all the fuel up by the time we arrived. It was because of the head wind. We got here about 2 o'clock. That's 7 1/2 hours in the truck...too much for both of us. We set up and also had to move the stuff back inside and outside. We were tired. Oh boy what a day. The frig did pretty good. We didn't have much in it. We were on the road for so long and the temperature was only 50 degrees when we got home. We can not run it on propane anymore. It won't really effect us much because usually our days are way shorter than that. When we turned it on it recovered really fast.


Saturday September 14- It was a really pretty day out there today. After cleaning the shower house we had to get to the store. We have used up all of our supplies. Then we came home. I made some party mix because we have a huge football game today. Iowa plays Iowa State....we are going to Justin and Molly's house to watch. We are for the Hawkeys and Molly is for Iowa State. The game started at 3. After it started up, still in the first quarter they delayed the game because of lightning. We waited for a while and they started back up. Again delayed for lightning while in the 2nd quarter. This time it was quite a while. It was something like 20 minutes played, 3 hours delay. Well it was a very exciting game. The Hawkeyes scored first but didn't stay in the lead for long. State was in the lead most of the game but in the last 5 minutes we took control and won the game. I think the game was over at 9 o'clock. That's a long game.

Some entertainment during the delay

Sunday September 15- Up and off to church. It is really hot out there today. Feels like summer...again. Before church we ran to Walmart to get a few things. After church we came home to just chill out here. With these hot temps that means inside. I tried to work on the blog but our internet is crazy slow. We don't know why, but I just gave up. I'll try again tomorrow. Until then.......

Wrapping Up Summer VacationI

Monday August 19- Today we decided to stay put here at the campground. I had plenty to keep me busy and so did Jeff. I started off the morning with a really good cleaning in the women's shower house. Then since I had such a good thing started I came back and started on our home. Then while I was cleaning inside Jeff was outside washing the the vehicles. Then he started waxing on the truck. He does it in sections. We both felt like we got some things accomplished that needed to be done. We finished the evening with a yummy supper.



Tuesday August 20- Nature gave us our alarm this morning with the sound of pouring rain. We didn't have anything planned to do outside anyway. It is Tuesday which means movie day. We like to go in the morning. The rain let up right before time to leave. Jeff picked out the movie, Blinded By The Light. Well it definitely wasn't what we thought. Both of us didn't like it. Oh well, the popcorn was good. Before coming home we stopped at the store. While we were there Justin called and needed us to come over later to watch Maddyn. We got home unloaded the groceries and sat for a minute before it was time to leave. While we were in town we got Hailey because she was suppose to stay tonight anyway. Thought we would save them a trip out. Hailey must have had a busy day because she crashed on the way to the camp ground. When we arrived home it was time for supper. We played with Hailey and before we knew it time for bed.

Wednesday August 21- Today is a big day. We had plans to entertain Hailey most of the day. We had breakfast, played Yahtzee, trac ball, and we even got the sewing machine out so she could start sewing her blocks together. She really listened well and took her time with everything I explained to her. I think she had fun. She was very serious.

After lunch we went in to town to pick up Ashton. We are taking the kids to Hudson Iowa to visit Hansen's Dairy. With school starting next week we needed a final hurrah. Jeff had read about this dairy. When he looked online to make a reservation it was booked solid for 2 weeks. Today was the first available time that didn't conflict with Hailey's gymnastics.  It is a family owned, working dairy. They give you a tour and also give you a chance to get some hands on fun. One of the most exciting things was they have kangaroos. You get to feed them and pet them. Well when we told the kids about that they were both in. We needed to arrive 15 minutes before the tour time at 3:30. We checked in and waited for the tour to begin. They had a fake cow inside so you could practice milking.

I should tell you right now that I took plenty of pictures, and all 4 of us had plenty of fun. We loaded up on the wagon for a short ride to the farm. There we unloaded and divided in to 2 groups. Our group had Teresa giving our tour. The first stop, the kangaroos. Well the kids were super excited about that, me too. We had to listen to a few instructions before heading in. We got to give them a piece of wheat bread. They did let you pet them, all except the biggest one. She told us if you get to close to him he would just hop away. Here are a few pictures of the kangaroos.

After that adventure we weren't sure the kids would be that interested in the rest. Boy was I wrong. Next we got to see the baby cows.  On each pen they had the name of the cow and date of birth. Again Teresa gave us some instructions on how to feed them. I have never done that before. It was fun for everyone.

After the baby cows, we got to see where the mama cows stay when they are pregnant. They get 2 months off from milking. They just get to hang out and get a special diet.

In between Teresa, our tour guide gave us tons of information on how this farm works. The next thing was showing us the milking station. We got to watch the process. The cows get milked twice a day. Each time, each cow gives 5 gallons of milk. With the high tech machines it only takes about 5 minutes to do that. While we were there we got to, if we wanted to milk the cow by hand. Now both kids said there was no way they were going to milk them. When we got there Hailey jumped right in and she had a blast. Now I wasn't going to pass up a chance to milk them either. I'm not sure who had the most fun, Hailey or me.

After our milking experience we moved on to the goats. Yep they had goats too. Again we got to go in and pet them. Who doesn't like hands on....no one.

Well that was the conclusion of the farm part of the tour but we weren't finished yet. We got back on the wagon and went back to the building where we first started.  First we had to wash our hands. Then we got to have some samples of there products. We had milk, chocolate or white. Then they brought out some of there cheese curds. Then they passed out a jar of cream with a lid on it. We got to shake it back and forth until it turned into butter. They had instructions to follow. Then they brought us crackers to spread our fresh butter on. The kids were impressed with the butter making. To finish off the tour they gave us a sample of there ice cream. Each one got to pick out the flavor they wanted. When I say sample it was a decent size container. A great way to end the tour. What was the coolest thing was they sold there products there. To pay for them they had a metal cash box....it was an honesty thing. So great to see family business thrive.

After the tour we drove in to Waterloo to eat dinner before heading home. We went for pizza at Doughy Joey's Peetza Joynt. It wasn't busy and we got our food fairly quick. It was alright food but not my favorite. At least we had a fun times with the kids.

We took the kids home and then made our way back to the park. It was a great day. 

Thursday August 22- Today we hung around the park until about 11:30. We went in to pick up Ashton and take him to his new school. He is off to high school this year. Today was his orientation. After dropping him off we drove down to Coralville. We needed to cash a check and make a Traders Joe run. After heading back home for supper.

Friday August 23- Cleaning day. We stayed here all day. First the shower house, preparing for a busy weekend. Then I needed to clean our place before our company arrives tonight. Judy is coming up for the weekend. It was a super nice day. I even sat outside and did some quilting. I made a campfire early so I could cook my burger on it for supper. It was a great fire so by the time Judy arrived it was still going strong.

Saturday August 24- Got up and checked the shower house. Then we had breakfast. Judy and I went to town to do a little shopping. She loves this bread they have at the farmers market so I wanted to show her where she can get it, all the time. Then we went to Sam's, the grocery store and back to Sam's. I forgot to get a rotisserie chicken. Then we came home for some lunch.

We went for a walk to the beach area after lunch. Then we hung around and visited the rest of the afternoon. We had an early supper and got ready to go to The After Dark Farmers Market. We got there early before all the people showed up. We got to walk around before the madness.

We had almost perfect weather for this thing. We got us some kettle corn and found some music to listen too. They were having some  technical problems. The band not my favorite this year, but ya can't win them all. We still had a wonderful time.

Sunday August 25- We got up and all got ready for church. I had signed up to greet this week so Judy helped me. A good message and worship. Came home and I made us a breakfast brunch. Then with the great weather we just hung around here and visited, We also got to watch everyone pull out. We should have one more super busy weekend before it slows down. That's what we are hoping for. Judy took off around 3. The park had emptied out and the walk in sites filled right back up for the next weekend.  It will be busy I'm sure. The good news about filling up early we know what to say when campers come a looking.


Monday August 26- The day started early. We are going in to watch Miss Maddyn today. The weather doesn't look favorable for playing outside. We arrived and it seems Maddyn has a bit of a cold. We took her out for breakfast but she didn't do much eating. After we went a looking for her a pair of crocs like papa. We couldn't find any that fit. We decided to stop by the pet store. She got to see the fish , birds, and reptiles. They even had a few kittens. While there she spotted these hats. They fit her but they are for dogs. She didn't seem to mind.She is just a hoot to take, very entertaining. Since the weather was so crappy we headed back. I did my laundry as usual. We played a bit before lunch. She went right down for a nap and slept a good 2 hours. I finished up the laundry while she slept. When she got up it was busy busy busy. We played and read books.





















Tuesday August 27- Today we headed in to our church. We were asked to help with the food pantry stuff. Jeff and I went in about 9 o'clock. They get food from different places in the city. We helped package then up for distribution. I was amazed at all the food they are able to provide. We stayed there a couple hours. Before going home I wanted to see about those crocs we couldn't find yesterday. We are on this side of the town today. I found a pair I think might work, we'll see if she likes them.
We stopped at the store also. We both are wanting some soup so we got what we needed for that. It is starting to cool off a bit. It just is starting to feel different outside, more fall like.


Wednesday August 28- Since the weather has cooled off a bit I decided to start my cleaning up outside. I got everything out of the basement compartments. Swept them out and went through the stuff to see what we didn't need. Then back in. Getting ready for traveling. Jeff washed the car again. Since they have the road tore up coming in to the park. Our car is always covered with dust. He also started the truck to keep the battery from going dead. Just as he was shutting it off the service engine soon light came on. Is there anything more frustrating than that? Well we have heard about a mechanic in Palo that people say does good work. Jeff went in to play guitar with Lenny so he drove the truck. He took it to that mechanic and he put it on the machine. Found out it was the NOX sensor. The guy said he could fix it. Jeff thought maybe it was under warranty so when he got back he checked. Yep, our warranty has been extended because of all the issues with the emission stuff, including this. Well he called them back and they can't do warranty work. Jeff called the GM dealer in Van Horn. So they will take care of it.


Thursday August 29- Got me a sore back this morning. I guess climbing in those basement compartments might have something to do with that. Did a whole bunch of nothing today. We walked up and visited with Wanda. She is the campground host up on the 2nd loop. Ruby loves her because she always has treats. I also called my niece in California to wish her a happy birthday.



Friday August 30- Jeff got up about 4 a.m. He has a cold. After cleaning the shower house I came home to make breakfast. Well I went to open the pantry to get something and I noticed a smell. It was ammonia...everyone knows that's not good. I had Jeff come see if he could smell it too. Yep. So right away we turned off the frig. Great, a broken frig. Now this is going to be a challenge to say the least. It's not like you can go and get a new one and plug it in. I don't know about you all but we like to eat and always have plenty of food. People that camp on the weekends usually just pack what they need for a weekend. We live in this and we both like to eat and I like to bake so we have a full kitchen all the time. We do have a small frig in the basement but that isn't going to hold all of our stuff. I loaded up the freezer stuff and took them in to our kids place. They have an extra freezer. Then we had to unload the rest in to the little frig and coolers. What a pain. Then Jeff got online to compare what our options are....Trying to figure out if we want the helium unit or change it into a residential. Then can we do it or should a professional? Well then who will do it right? Lots to be looking at. Now it's a holiday weekend so nothing will get done for a few days. Well Jeff spent a lot of time researching. I cleaned the frig out really good. It is easy when there is nothing in it. We had plans to do something tonight but Jeff's really not feeling well and all this going on we just stayed in.


Saturday August 31- We have lots of stuff to try and use up. So after cleaning I came home and made breakfast. The park is full for the holiday weekend but our campers seem to be pretty quiet and clean. That's great. I have to got to town tonight to watch Maddyn. We had something sat out for supper but since I'm not going to be here we decided to have a big lunch. The day went by really fast. I loaded up laundry, and my quilt stuff and headed in. Jeff stayed back because he didn't want to get Maddyn sick. I took over her crocs to show her. I asked if she liked them, she said no. I asked if she wanted me to take them back to the store? She said yeah. So not really sure what we will be doing with them. She did try them on later and acted like she liked them. They are a little big so maybe that's the problem.

Maddyn and I had a fun day. We read books and watched videos. Then we had supper, she was a little stubborn today. She didn't want her pasta but ate everything else....with gusto.

Sunday September 1- A brand new month. We are getting close to travel time. We have about 1 1/2 months left. I know that time will fly by. We started the day with church. Stopped to get more ice for our coolers and came home. I got one of the coolers cleaned out so we are down to just one cooler. By it's easy to forget how nice a frig is. We are spoiled with all of our appliances. Since it is a holiday weekend nobody is leaving. Well I think a couple campers did. Again we ate like kings today. First another breakfast and for dinner we had a Thanksgiving meal. We tried not to have too many leftovers but with the turkey we had plenty. I called Wanda to see if she would want some leftovers, she said yes so we were able to keep what we had to put in the frig at a minimum. Well you know what happens after a turkey dinner....we just hung around here. I quilted. Still have a full park. We are thinking the camping will slow down a bit after this weekend. Til next time.