A Golf Date

The weather has finally improved, and we’ve enjoyed several days of temps in the 70s.

On Monday Kevin and I went golfing at Kestrel Ridge Golf Course in Columbus. We’ve enjoyed playing at this course the three summers we’ve been in this area. I had bought some Groupon certificates last fall so we played 18 holes for $18 each.

I don’t normally play 18 holes. After 9 I’ve had enough fun. But, I played all but the last two holes. By that time, I was done. The day was beautiful. There are several ponds on the course, and the frogs were serenading us.

This was Kevin’s second time playing this spring and my first. Both of us had pretty decent games considering we haven’t played since September. I had a few muscles that were complaining the next day, but I’m back to normal again.

Yesterday I went to Eric’s house to do a little laundry, pick up our mail and have dinner with Eric. We had a nice visit. There are a few more projects at his house we’re planning to tackle this summer.

The last two summers I’ve done some volunteering at the Beaver Dam Community Hospital. I told them I was taking a break from volunteering this summer, but I am going in today to help out with their annual Kindergarten tours. Those little ones are so excited to learn, and they’re so cute.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Three Years and Going Strong

Today marks the three year anniversary of our fulltime RVing life!

We’re thrilled to report that we couldn’t be happier. These three years have been filled with some amazing discoveries. We’ve seen so much beauty in places like Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, California, Texas and the Midwest. And, we’re looking forward to many more beautiful places in the years to come.

We did have a few mishaps along the way. The most annoying being the failure of the original Goodyear tires that came on our fifth wheel. Goodyear has stood behind their product and replaced all four tires as well as paying for the damage done to our rig.

It’s hard living in your unit when repairs need to be done. But, that’s just a part of this life. Even if you own a home, things break and need fixing. So, we deal with it and move on.

When we started on this journey, we had a lot of what if questions. What if you don’t like it? What if you get sick? What if you don’t like being together so much? etc. etc. We had done our homework and felt we were ready. And, what if we have ten extra years of freedom before the standard retirement age.

Well, we’ve had three years of freedom and can’t imagine going back to the old life. We hope to continue living this life as long as possible! And so far, we’re getting along just fine :)

Our weather has finally taken a turn for the better. As is typical for a Wisconsin spring we went from winter right into summer. Yesterday’s high was 82 degrees. But never fear, by tomorrow it will be back in the 50s with more rain.

I think the birds have been very confused with the late arrival of spring. When we arrived two weeks ago, there was a large group of American Coots hanging out along the shore of the lake in the park. This was the first spring we had seen them here. They’re already gone. I guess they just stayed a big longer than usual.

Also, I was disappointed that there were very few white pelicans here. Suddenly, in the last few days more and more of the pelicans are arriving. They were smart enough to wait until it got warmer.

The lake level is quite high this year. Last year the pelicans congregated on a rock outcropping in the lake. There were lots of birds on that little stretch of rocks. Here’s a picture from last May.

Yesterday when I was out for my daily walk, I saw some pelicans at that same spot. As you can see, they did not have nearly as much area to sit on. And, it looks like there are still a few coots hanging around with the pelicans.

On my walking route there is an area near the lake where a bunch of Canadian geese hang out. This pair have an absolute fit each time I walk by. I’m guessing they’re protecting a nest.

There are many swallows in this area. Lots of the homeowners have birdhouses for them. As I walk, I see them busily building nests in the houses.

Last Saturday we spent the day with members of the camping club we belong to. We can’t get away for an entire weekend due to our camphosting duties, but are able to spend a day with them once in a while. It was great seeing everyone and catching up with everyone’s news. And, it was actually a decent enough day to sit outside.

Kevin has been doing his job in the park. They had a late winter ice storm so there are many branches to be picked up. He’ll probably start mowing next week. The water problem was fixed last week so we are good to go and don’t need to take navy showers anymore.

I’ve been doing some spring cleaning and running errands. My biggest accomplishment is that I’ve finally found a dress for the wedding. What a relief!

I’m probably only going to blog once a week or less this summer. I don’t want to bore anyone with our day to day normal activities. I’m sure you don’t want to know that I’ve done laundry or what we had for dinner. I’ll have plenty to share as the wedding gets closer :)

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

What Kind of Spring is This?

We’ve been back in Wisconsin for almost a week, and I’ve barely been outside. I’ve definitely become spoiled. I just can’t stand cold weather anymore.

Almost every day has been cold with highs in the 30s. Southeastern Wisconsin is on track for having the wettest April on record. It’s rained most of the days we’ve been back, and just for fun some days there have been snow flurries mixed in. Don’t forget about the winds, gusting several days to over 30 miles per hour.

Okay, enough complaining about the weather. Much of the country is experiencing cold spring weather. At least we haven’t had accumulating snow or flooding where we are. I really want to get out walking again, but I’m not a gluten for punishment!

Cathryn’s aunt and uncle work camp in Minnesota in the summer. They happened to be at the same campground we were at in Omaha waiting for the snow to melt in Minnesota so they could get into their campground. They are still waiting in Omaha.

When we arrived at our spot on Tuesday, Mike the park foreman came to turn on the water for us. The pressure was very low and he discovered there was a hole in the pipe by the well. So, Kevin filled our water tank (it took an hour with the low pressure) and we’re not hooked up to the water for now. They are supposed to be fixing it this week. It’s probably a good thing we’re not hooked up anyway with all this cold weather.

Last Wednesday we went to my mom’s to pick up our car which we store in her garage while we’re gone for the winter. It started up great, but as Kevin pulled out of the garage the brake pedal went to the floor. Seems the brake line broke. He called the dealership he used to work at, and they arranged to have it towed in. They have fixed the brake lines and did an oil change as long as it was there. We’re picking it up tomorrow.

We also stopped at our son Eric’s house to pick up our mail from the winter. Almost all of it was junk mail. There was one $50 check that made me happy.

Every year on the news they have a story about how every state has uncollected money. Each year I look, and our names are never on the list. To my surprise, this year my name was on the list for $50 due from Chase Bank for a credit card we used to have. I had cancelled the card due to their ridiculous fees. Somehow, we were due $50 from them. I filled out the forms online, and the check was waiting for us. Don’t you just love found money!!

I was so grateful that we had an uneventful trip from Texas to Wisconsin. But, when we were setting up Kevin found that our rear jacks must have bottomed out in the driveway of Burlington RV as we were leaving. The electrical cord was damaged and part of the jacks need to be welded.

He removed the whole jack assembly yesterday and is taking it to his friend’s shop tomorrow to be welded. Then Kevin will fix the wiring and hopefully we’ll have working rear jacks. It sure feels like we’ve had our share of stuff breaking this year. Maybe 2013 is bad luck!

However, our problems are minor. When I watch the stories from Boston and Texas I am reminded to be grateful for the blessings we have in our life such as following our dreams, good health and wonderful family and friends!

I’ve been doing some sewing and we’ve run some errands. Tomorrow Kevin starts his job as park caretaker. There is definitely no need for grass cutting yet, but there are lots of branches and leaves that need to be cleaned up in the park.

We were certainly shocked when a young couple came in Wednesday night and asked if they could camp. They had a tent!! We told them yes, but the shower building is closed due to the lack of water. Only the vault toilets are open.

They stayed for three nights in that tent. One of those nights was extremely windy with lows in the 20s. Crazy!!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

We’re Baaack!

We left Wisconsin just over six months ago on October 8th. Today we are back at our summer camp hosting spot on Beaver Dam Lake. Wisconsin definitely still feels like home.

We’re grateful that we had a safe and uneventful drive back from Texas. No blown tires or objects in the road. It was a good trip with decent driving weather.

Our final day in Omaha was last Friday. The Omaha Storm Chasers AAA minor league baseball team had their home opener on that night. They were playing the Nashville Sounds, which is a minor league team for the Milwaukee Brewers. Korey and Cathryn were planning to go to the game and invited us to go with them.

The Storm Chasers home field is Werner Park, built just three years ago. It’s a very nice ball park that seats just over 6,000 people. Our seats were only $10 and were a few rows behind the first base dugout. It reminded us a lot of spring training games.

Let me tell you it was cold. Temps at game time were in the mid 30s with a pretty good breeze. By the end of the game it was 30 degrees, but at least the wind had calmed down.

Even though it was cold, we had a good time. Our team did not look like they wanted to be out on the field and ended up losing 6-5. There was a nice fireworks display after the game.

We left Omaha on Saturday morning and drove about 4.5 hours to Amana, Iowa. We stayed at the Amana RV Park using our Passport America discount on a FHU 50 amp, level, pull-through site for $17. Other than a few work campers, we were the only ones in the park, so the wi-fi was smoking fast! We also took advantage of their laundry room. They had the lowest prices we encountered all winter at $1 to wash and 50 cents to dry.

An added benefit was spending a few hours on Sunday walking around Amana. I am a big fan of the Ackermann Winery and was able to stock up. If you bought a case of twelve, you saved $1 per bottle. Being the frugal person I am, it was necessary to buy a case to save some money. I love their cranberry wine, but still had a few bottles left. I ended up with some new flavors for me including blackberry, plum, cherry and a sweet grape. That should last me for a while.

We also visited the German bakery where I enjoyed a tasty piece of blackberry strudel. Next, we made our way to the Millstream microbrewery. It was a nice day with temps in the 60s so we sat on their patio where Kevin enjoyed a tasty Windmill Wheat beer. He also purchased a sampler twelve pack to take home.

Monday we drove to Burlington RV to get an estimate for our roof repairs. We spent Monday night in their parking lot and that brings us to arriving in Beaver Dam today.

Parks foreman Mike was here when we arrived getting the water turned on for us. Things are pretty wet around here. Between the snowy winter and rainy spring, the area has totally recovered from last summer’s drought. I guess the powers that be didn’t get the memo since heavy rain is predicted for the next three days. Oh well, it will warm up eventually.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Brrrrr!!!

The weather has certainly not cooperated with our visit to Omaha. Since Tuesday, the highs have been in the 30s, lows in the 20s and very windy with rain, sleet and even a little snow mixed in. Not conducive to exploring outside. But, we are not alone. The entire Midwest has had terrible weather this week. We were very lucky to avoid the severe storms and hail that pounded much of our surrounding area on Tuesday night.

As I look out the windows, I see Robins, Red Winged Blackbirds, Blue Jays, ducks and geese out there. I bet they wish they’d stayed further south for a while longer! Yesterday morning there was even a little snow accumulation on the ground when we got up.

On Wednesday evening Korey invited us over for dinner. He and Cathryn live in the same building. She lives one floor above him with her roommate. Her roommate is graduating so that will work out well for everyone as Korey will just be moving up one floor in August after the wedding.

Cathryn helped with the cooking. They made honey mustard chicken, a sweet potato and apple side dish and quinoa. It was all very delicious!

After dinner Cathryn and I (with a little input from Korey) went through the photo files on my computer and picked out some pictures of Korey as a child for a slideshow her mom is putting together for the wedding. That brought back some great memories, and we had some laughs!

Yesterday we drove about 20 miles to Ashland to meet up with Korey after he got off of work. He works at Carol Joy Holling Camp, Conference and Retreat Center. This is the main retreat center building. It is like a very nice hotel with several conference rooms and hotel style bedrooms. In the winter Korey works here as a host. The center is rented out most every weekend to groups such as scrap bookers, quilters and church groups.

Korey drove us around the grounds. It is a very large camp with four different areas for youth summer camp groups. They have two ropes courses. This is the one for the younger kids. The one for the older kids was higher and bigger. Yikes! In the summer Korey will be working on the ropes course. He’s looking forward to that!

Cathryn was busy last night so Korey followed us back to the fifth wheel where I made dinner for us. I tried a new gluten free recipe for Parmesan chicken. Normally I coat the chicken with Shake and Bake. This time I crunched up corn tortilla chips for the coating. It was good, but Kevin and I like the Shake and Bake a bit better. At least Korey could eat this version.

After dinner we played a game and visited a bit. Tonight we’re going to the home opener of the Omaha minor league baseball team, the Omaha Storm Chasers. They are playing the Milwaukee Brewers minor league team, the Nashville Sound. It’s supposed to be in the low 40s and windy. I hope I have enough layers to wear to keep warm!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

An Enjoyable Day With The Kids

Korey had the day off yesterday and was kind enough to spend it with us. It was a pretty nice day so he came over around noon, and we walked the 5k paved path around the small lakes in the park. This is such a nice community park. I sure enjoyed seeing these daffodils.

One of the perks to this lifestyle is that we get to experience spring a couple of times. We saw some beautiful spring flowers in Texas and many of the trees had sprouted leaves. As we drove through Oklahoma we saw many red bud trees as well as some daffodils and tulips. In Kansas and Nebraska the trees do not have leaves yet, but some spring flowers are in bloom. Once we get back to Wisconsin, it will probably be a few weeks before we see spring flowers.

After a brisk walk, we sat outside and enjoyed the weather for a while. Then we picked up Cathryn (she had class during the day) and they took us to Creighton University so we could see where  she is doing her graduate work. Here’s the happy couple outside of the main building she spends most of her time at.

Creighton is a private Catholic college. They have a beautiful church on campus.

The campus is near downtown Omaha so we went to dinner at a The Upstream Brewing Company in the heart of town. It looks like it is in a converted warehouse building with brick walls. Omaha has done a nice job of revamping their inner city. There is an area called Old Market with lots of shops and restaurants that looks like a busy and trendy area. We had a good dinner and Kevin enjoyed the wheat beer.

Today the weather has really turned nasty. Highs were only in the low 40s with lots of rain and wind. Unfortunately, the rest of the week looks like it will be cold, but the rain is supposed to stop on Thursday. Korey and Cathryn are busy today, but have invited us over for dinner tomorrow night.

Korey found out last year that he has Celiac disease, so they will be cooking some gluten free dishes for us. I’m looking forward to trying some new recipes.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

We’ve Arrived in Nebraska

We spent the last three days on the road traveling from Texas to Nebraska. I am so happy to report that all three days were smooth sailing with very nice weather and no problems!

We are members of Passport America. Staying at their parks has provided us with some very good campground savings over the three years we’ve been fulltiming. However, their member parks can be an adventure. I use several online sites to check reviews of campgrounds, but sometimes you still get a dud.

Friday night we stayed at Cedar Valley RV Park about six miles off of I-35 in Guthrie, Oklahoma. We had a FHU, 50 amp, pull-thru site for $15. The campground is well cared for and a great spot for a night or two. They have a clean laundry room, and only charge $1 each to wash and dry. So, we took advantage of that and did three loads. They also had free wi-fi that worked well.

Saturday night we stayed at Lakeside Recreation park in Assaria, Kansas a few miles off of I-135. There weren’t a lot of campground choices in Kansas. This park didn’t have the best reviews online, but they weren’t terrible. I think the place has seen better days in the past. Now it is just a dump. There is a 1.5 mile gravel road to get to it. They advertise FHU 30 amp pull-through sites. Only one of those sites had working utilities. The others had garbage bags over the power post or had water that wasn’t working. There are a handful of permanent residents and that’s it. The bathhouse was locked. The advertised free wi-fi was down according to one of the residents. The cost was also $15. Oh well, you win some and you lose some.

Sunday we arrived at Walnut Creek Rec Area in Papillion, Nebraska about 10 miles outside of Omaha. We’re here to visit our son Korey and his fiancé Cathryn. What a pleasant surprise this campground turned out to be.

It is owned by the city of Papillion and has electric only sites for $16 per night. We have a 50 amp site right next to a small lake. All of the pads are concrete and plenty big enough for a large rig. In fact, there are quite a few big rigs staying here. It is a super well maintained park in a beautiful setting. There are three water hydrants in the park to fill your tank. We’re here for six nights so will not have a problem with our tanks filling up.

Here’s the view outside our back window. I woke up early this morning and was able to enjoy a beautiful sunrise.

Korey and Cathryn came over for dinner last night. We had a nice visit with lots of wedding chatter. We played a card game and then they had to leave. Cathryn had a test to study for.

Just a little bragging about Cathryn. She is a wonderful young lady who is in her second year of the Doctorate of Occupational Therapy program at Creighton University. Saturday night they had their Spring Banquet. She won both top student awards, one from the professors and one from her fellow students. We couldn’t be more proud of her!!

Korey is settling into his new job here in Omaha. He’s not totally loving it, but it’s a decent paycheck and allowed him to move closer to his sweetheart. Its only for two years until she finishes her program.

Today’s forecast is for 78 degrees. Tomorrow a cold front comes through with rain and highs predicted to be only in the 40s for a few days.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!