Another month, who would have thought! The end of October is near, and we are back in Florida for a bit. It’s hard to get used to the 80 degree temps and humidity after spending so much time up North. Time sure does fly!
It’s been a busy month once again. We were in the Kenosha, WI area from the 29th to the 1st of October.
Toby is coming along real nice at his hockey lessons.
We got to attend one of Eli’s cross country meets as well.
Thursday, the 1st, all the kids were descending upon Wisconsin for our nephew, Ben’s wedding. Terri went to the airport to get Jason and his family who were arriving early in the day. Ashley would come along later and gather Justin and Mandi who landed later. The airport is real close to the camp we were staying at in Calendonia, so while Terri was gone I got the Coach ready to roll. We don’t have sewer at the sites, so I made the obligatory trip to the dump station and was finishing up just as Terri arrived back with Jason’s clan. Terri took Meghan and the kids in the truck, and Jason would ride with me in the Coach for the 3 hour trek back up North. Just as we were getting ready to depart, Jason saw a huge screw in the tread of my right front tire. We could tell it was likely mostly in the tread, so we took it out with no ill effects. I’m really glad I have the tire pressure monitoring system on board. I was able to track the pressure closely in case the screw did more damage than we thought, but all went well…kind of. Just as I put the Coach in travel mode, the left rear ride height valve would not go into travel mode. It was odd, as the Coach seemed to be at the right height for travel. So, I put the Coach in and out of leveling mode a few times, and the error seemed to clear, except for every bump we went over…it would come out of travel mode for a few seconds, then correct itself. This went on for over an hour, until we pulled into a really bumpy rest area. After that it worked fine. I don’t know if something was in the lines, or whatever, but it has worked fine ever since. I carry two spare valves with me in case I lose one completely.
Other than that, it was a great trip up, and was nice to be able to spend some time chatting with Jason. We arrived at our VRBO on Pike Lake early in the afternoon, and had the Coach all set up in the driveway in short order. Our buddy Steve, who owns the VRBO with his wife Jenny, installed a 30 amp breaker for us last year, so it was nice to have electric rather than running on the generator while we were there. Thursday night was a great time hanging with the family, and Ben, Seth and Ryan all showed up as well. All the guy cousins together before the wedding.
They had just harvested potatoes across the road, and one of the nice folks in the area called Terri and the grandkids over to the field where he was “harvesting” what was left behind by the harvesting equipment. We got a huge sack of the nicest looking, and largest potatoes I’ve seen in a long time, and they’ve tasted awesome!
Sure do love this place on Pike Lake.
Most of the cousins having a good time, and Peyton learning to play ping pong.
Peyton and Toby had a blast playing Air Hockey.
They played so well together that they wore each other out, and slept together. What we thought may have been a recipe for disaster actually worked out quite well, as they slept together each night. I don’t know if I’d put up with this every night though Peyton!
Early morning wake up!
Friday was rehearsal day, so slow around the house for the most part. Lots of walks, playing with the kids, and buying all those things that you forgot to pack with you. Not so much us, as we have our house with us, but when flying families all over the place, something normally gets left behind.
Ben and Jamie had an outdoor wedding at an awesome place Northwest of Wausau. The rehearsal was a blast, and Rob and Pat (parents of the groom) provided dinner afterwards.
Awesome venue, and praying the weather cooperates tomorrow. Was a bit chilly this evening.
Should be spectacular!
Seth, Jason, Ben and Ryan. The guy cousins managed to meet up one more time at the local watering hole before Ben got hitched.
Logan was up early on Saturday, wearing Gramps hat.
The wedding was later in the afternoon, so a bunch of us headed down the road a bit to take in a really nice auction. Things moved really slow, so they didn’t get to any of the guns or other “fun” stuff until after we all had to leave to get ready for the wedding.
Pat, Rob and Ben making the stroll!
Jason escorting his bridesmaid.
Jamie and her dad ready to descend. Awesome sight in person…I wish the pictures would do the scene more justice.
Justin and Mandi
Garreck, Ashley, Emma, Eli and Toby.
Jason, Meghan, Logan and Peyton.
And Gramps and Grams
An excellent time was had by all! Sunday was the “after wedding” and gift opening at Pat and Rob’s. More great food and fun. All too soon the day was over, and Ben and Jamie were off in their 5th wheel headed toward the Rockies.
Monday was move day once again. Terri and Ashley shuttled the kids to the airport, and I remained behind to have my annual Coach service done at the local Cummins facility. For the most part, everything looks good, but I have a couple of items I need to get taken care of soon. I have a small leak in the oil dip stick tube. The tube is made of plastic, and is routed right next to the manifold. This caused some pin hole leaks, and the folks at the Cummins facility didn’t have any tubing in stock to repair it. Also, my exhaust flex tube is cracking at the flex pipe. Again, not real major right now, but will need attention. I plan to get these things fixed in FL. I also have a leak in the main cinc cylinder for the slides that I need to get checked out. We will see what we can find repair wise.
I made it to the camp ground in Caledonia late in the day, and Terri had a site picked out waiting for me. We paid for the site through the night of the 10th, as the park closed on the 11th, which is the day we started South.
The rest of the week was spent enjoying as much time as we could with Ashley and her family.
Toby collecting acorns with Grams.
The last hockey practice we would get to attend this year.
The colors really started to pop this week with the cooler temps.
Who knew Meijer grocery store still has rides for a penny!
Toby’s last breakfast with us before departure.
And just like that, it was Sunday, the 11th and time to roll. Got this shot just as the sun was coming up. We will miss you Wisconsin!
It was a gorgeous day for travel, so we set an aggressive schedule. We wanted to get to Camp Carlson in Ft Knox, KY, and we did, with few issues. Of course Chicago is never fun to drive through, but it wasn’t too bad on Sunday morning. About 5 hours into the trip, my tire pressure alarm went off, indicating that my right rear inside tire was losing pressure. I slowed down and made it to an exit, and determined that somehow the sensor was partially unscrewed, causing air to escape. I aired back up, and we were on the road again within a half hour. Another item to add to the departure checklist. We made it to Camp Carlson about 6 in the evening and we were all set up in a full hook up site in short order. We really like this place, as we stayed here last year. It was much better this year. If you recall, I lost a hydraulic line for the slides on nasty I-65 in Indiana. We couldn’t use the slides for the week we were here, so we felt like we were living in a mansion this time around.
Speaking of I-65 in Indiana…don’t do it. Take the red roads or an alternate interstate. It just plain sucks from stem to stern in Indiana.
We stayed at Camp Calrson until Saturday. I had some work to do Tues through Friday, so staying put was a good idea. The weather was awesome, and Terri got to catch up with a good friend in Louisville who had moved there two years ago.
It was Terri’s birthday week as well…I get an “F” for providing anything fun for her. We hope to correct that soon.
Not as much color in KY, but nice none the less.
Evening shot of the lake.
We departed early on Saturday, the 17th and had awesome roads and weather, so we made good distance once again. We landed at an overnight park in Montgomery, AL. We were going to try to get to the Fam Camp at Maxwell AFB, but the office is closed on weekends, and we didn’t want to have to go out of the way to potentially find out they didn’t have any room for us. The Woods RV park provided a nice long pull through with full hookups for the night for $32 (military discount.)
We departed early again on Sunday, and spent the entire day on red roads…all four lane, and very nice. Our destination was Grassy Pond FamCamp near Valdosta, GA. We stayed there last February, and knew it was an easy on and off the highway stop, and close to I-75, which we would be taking for the remainder of the way to Florida. The only issue of the day was an idiot that pulled out right in front of me on a four lane while we were going 55MPH. Not only did he pull out in front of me, but he immediately hit the brakes and stopped…he was trying to get into the left lane, and didn’t know there was a car beside me. Couldn’t believe he didn’t see my 32,0000+ pounds rolling his way! I locked ’em up, and laid on the air horns. He pulled left just in the nick of time, or it would have been a mess. There was no where for me to go except straight through him, which would have been ugly. Thank God the brakes worked well, and the supplemental brake system for the truck worked well also…that’s another 7,500 pounds that had to get stopped. Whewww…had to take a minute after that one!
We eventually made it to Grassy Pond, and in enough time to watch the Packer game!
A real nice pull through at Grassy Pond. $23 per night.
We were off early on Monday, with Bradenton, FL and the Horseshoe Cove RV Resort as our destination. We made great time, got fueled up and got the Coach washed, and pulled in about 3. The site they had us scheduled for would not have fit our Coach and the truck, and the water on the site did not work. The office staff was very accommodating and placed us in a pull through which is working great.
Gulf of Mexico from Bradenton Beach, FL.
We had planned to stay here a month, as they were offering a great monthly rate, but we’ve had some other things come up that changed our plans.
We will be here until Sunday to attend the http://www.livingthervdream.com rally being hosted by John and Kathy Huggins. We learned so much from them when we were toying with the idea of this full time stuff, and are really looking forward to meeting them and learning from everyone here.
On Sunday we will relocate to Turkey Creek City Park in Orlando. This puts us close to Mandi and Justin as well as my mom and dad. Terri left early this morning to go see Mandi, and stopped by Turkey Lake on the way and it looks real nice. We were not able to get full hookups, but we do quite well with just electric and water.
Well, time for me to go register for the rally! As always, we hope this finds you Happy, Healthy, and Living Your Dreams!!!
ronandterrirvlife 