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Full-time RV travels in the United States and Canada
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July 16-31, 2006 This week we are doing something different. On Sunday, July 23rd we are going to go to our home park in Kalamazoo, MI. American Campgrounds is just north of Kalamazoo. This campground is very kid friendly-young and old. They have a swimming pool, miniature golf, paddle boats, catch and release fishing, two small lakes and many other attractions, along with a expanding campground. They have cabins also, and we thought that we would take a little vacation and stay in a stick house for a change. What were we thinking! We have to take our own bedding and who knows what else. I am not used to this. We bought a couple of large Rubbermaid bins and in went the towels, tea-towels, sheets, blanket, pillows, toaster, tea kettle, meds for the week, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and a million other small stuff. Then I had to pack the duffle bag. We don't have regular suitcases anymore. They are all packed full of stuff in our storage trailer. We only had two, so we don't have much packed in them. I like the duffle bags we have because they fold flat for storage and just lay in the bottom of the closet until we need them. This is only the second time we have used them since we started full-timing. Now, what all will we need for a four day get-away. I don't like packing. I am missing our coach home and we haven't even left yet. I like taking my stuff, including our own bed, with us. I know before we leave that it is going to be a long four days and nights. I finally got everything packed and Doug had it all stowed away in the car. We crossed over into Michigan on the Sombra/Marine City ferry. There was only one car ahead of us and we didn't have long to wait. The ferry docked within minutes of us pulling into the loading area. Within 15 minutes we were in Michigan and through Customs. She was a very friendly Customs Officer and wished us a happy trip. We took Marine City Rd until we reached I-94 then I-696 west, and back onto I-94. We hadn't checked out the construction before we left and we should have. We will come back through Lansing and Flint. Other then the construction, the trip went well. We were there before the people that had it rented until today, had left. We checked in, then went back to Kalamazoo to buy some groceries for the next few days. I miss my kitchen already. We had lunch and did our shopping. We came back to American Campgrounds and picked up our key to cabin 8 at the guard house. We went down to the cabin and started hauling stuff into the cabin. This seems like a lot more work then we are used too. Usually, we pull the coach into the campground, find a site, back in, hook-up and we are all set in less then 15 minutes. At the end of 15 minutes we are still hauling and un-packing and making the bed and putting the groceries away, and, and, ..........argh! Some holiday. The cabin was nice. The furniture could have been a bit better, but after all we are supposed to be roughing it. There is an air conditioner and it is working real well. The cabin was nice and comfortable, even though the sun was shining strong on the front of it. We got settled in and then realized NO TV, oh no, whatever will Doug do? Here are the cabins outside and inside
the above is nice, this is the other direction
the doorway was in the middle, but I missed taking the middle picture. The futon was very uncomfortable, but the bunks were okay. I wouldn't trade my own bed for the whole cabin though. I guess maybe my bones are to old for this rustic life. For a young family, that doesn't have a RV, it would be a great get-away. We went to Recreational Vehicle Surplusin Elkhart, Indiana, on Monday. We had a few things we wanted to pick up. It is a great place to buy anything you could possibly need, from screw nails to chesterfields and holding tanks. We just like to go and browse and we also picked up calking, a vent for the hood vent, and a few other items. We also went to Camping World to buy a few more RV items. We still needed the squirrel cage for our front furnace. We decided to leave it until Tuesday to find. We don't think we will find it in stock anywhere. Tuesday morning we headed north on US131. There were some be RV dealers just north of us. We got off at Ext. 76 and there was a RV World dealer on the north east side of the exit. We went into the Parts and Service department and asked for the part. The guy looked it up, turned and walked back into the parts storage area and came back with the squirrel cage. We couldn't believe it, but we were sure happy we had stopped at this dealer. It was fantastic, friendly service to boot. What are the chances of walking into a big dealership and getting a part for a coach that is nearly ten years old? We are now happy campers again. We were happy before, just a little worried about the cold weather we experience, before we go south every winter. Now we don't have to worry. Doug will install it, as soon as we get a cool day. It is really hot right now and not good weather for working outside. We came back to the campground and decided to just relax for the afternoon. I had my notebook computer with us, so I went to the camp store and rented a couple of movies. One was Meet the Fockers. It was quite funny and had an RV in it. Some real big name actors also. We enjoyed it. Doug bar-be-qued the rest of the hamburgers we had purchased. We won't eat them all, but he thought he might have one with his eggs in the morning. We had taken our little Coleman Bar-be-que with us and it works quite well. We had hamburgers for supper. They were good, but I hit something hard in the one I had and heard a crunch, in my tooth. It didn't hurt because I have had a root canal and crown on that tooth. It didn't sound good though. We will see over the next couple of days. We decided to leave a day early. We had accomplished everything that we wanted to do here, and our coach home is calling us. Doug is going into severe TV withdrawals 8}, I miss my nice comfy bed. We packed up as much as we could, Tuesday night. We hadn't taken that much, so it didn't take long to pack. We hadn't bought many groceries either, so we would finish clearing the fridge in the morning. We were up early Wednesday morning. We had breakfast, the dishes were done and we were all packed up and on the road by 8:30 a.m. Are we a bit anxious to be home or what. We went north on US131 and then east on SR11. We were on US96 heading east before 9:30 a.m. The trip home always goes quicker this way. We were over to our homepark in June to get new ID cards and we had taken this route home. Maybe it is because it is all interstate and you can drive 70 mph all the way. Whatever the reason, we were back at the border crossing shortly after 12 p.m. We crossed through customs declaring everything, which was just under $220.00 and we were close to home. Less then and hour later, we had the car unloaded and was sitting, looking out our windshield (picture window) at the beautiful St. Clair River
This is a sunset photo I took, at the beginning of July. You can see the sun just under the branch of the tree, in the centre. All the sites are large and full hook-up. We have 4 American seasonals, that I know of. A couple of them have been coming here for more then 20 years. One comes all the way from Florida every summer to camp and fish on the river. It is a very pretty park. You can just see the river which is a ribbon of silver running horizontal across the photo. By Thursday evening I knew I had a problem with my tooth. The crown was loose and I was getting pain where I shouldn't have, because of the root canal. Friday morning I called my dentist. Dr. Johnson of South West Dental came to my rescue again. I called at 9:30 a.m. and was sitting in his chair by 11 a.m. The news wasn't good though. My tooth had shattered inside the crown. It had to come out. Dr. Johnson froze it and soon I was as good as new, with no pain. He has been my dentist since 1979. I had been to many dentist before I started going to him. I am glad that I found him. I also hope that if I have a tooth problem, that it happens in the summer months, so that Dr. Johnson can take care of it for me. I hope that I don't see him again until May of 2007 for my check-up and cleaning. We have full medical and dental coverage, thanks to Doug's retirement package from International Truck and Engine and I make sure that we have all the check-ups that we should be having. We are so glad that we have such great coverage. We are very fortunate. Doug brought me right home. He knew that I wouldn't want to do anything, while in Chatham, after the extraction. I just came in, turned on the air and waited for the freezing to leave. I am a bit tender, but nothing like it was before. Dr. Johnson always does it right the first time. Thanks Doc. It is hard to believe that it is the 28th of July already. I will start making our reservations within the next week. I like booking 90 days in advance and if we have any last minute changes, it is easier to cancel then to try to find last minute places to stay. I have a system I will share with you soon, with regards to our memberships and how to take full advantage of them. They save us big dollars every year. I woke up this morning feeling stiff and aching, but it wasn't my tooth that was aching. That felt fine, it was the rest of me. There is a storm brewing and I always know about them at least three days in advance. Every muscle in my body feels inflamed and aching. I think it might have something to do with my younger years, when I broke and trained horses. Sometimes they broke and trained me, LOL. I still feel the lessons they gave me. Soon after we had breakfast, we left for Tilbury. We were going to see our son Jody and daughter-in-law Rachael. We hadn't been down to see them for awhile and also Doug wanted Jody to use his drill press to put a hole through a large cotter key. We accomplished that in short order. Jody is working on the jeep again this weekend to get it ready for the big mud bog rally -not sure what it is actually called-this coming weekend in the Bobcaygeon area. They are a trail leader this weekend. Should have some stories to tell when they get back. We came back to the river after stopping at the grocery store in Wallaceburg. I didn't need much, so it didn't take long. We are having another beautiful sunset tonight. The campground is the fullest that I have ever seen it. I don't think that there is one empty site for tonight. Hard to believe that there is only a couple more days left in July. The morning started off hot and humid. We had our normal Sunday morning breakfast of bacon and eggs. We visited with different neighbors and just enjoyed a beautiful Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon was a different situation. My weatherbug icon started flashing on the computer and the sky was getting very dark, west of here. The weatherbug said that there was a severe thunderstorm alert with winds up to 80 m.p.h. and up to 2" hail stones. We put up our awning and went around to alert the neighbors. There was some that had gone away and hadn't put their awnings up. We decided to put them up for them. We got the one up and went to help with the others. We made it just in time, the rain was really starting to come down. Within minutes, it was raining so hard you couldn't see across the road. The wind was blowing in gust. At times it was raining sideways. It was really dark also. Thankfully, it didn't last very long and everyone in the park seemed to come through it okay. Now we are having a beautiful sunset. New friends Wayne and Anne
left. They are going home, then leaving for British Columbia one day next
week. Happy trails Wayne and Anne
We went into Chatham on this final day of July, 2006. We had some prescriptions to pick up and a few other things to do. Doug wanted a new pair of sunglasses. His distance correction is so minimal that he really doesn't need to wear glasses all the time. He is more comfortable with the sunglasses.
Took this shot from the Weatherbug. It is the closest location to us and it is hot, hot, hot on both sides of the St. Clair River. The heat index makes it feel a lot hotter then the thermometer is showing. Soon we will be complaining that it is to cold here and it is time to leave for the south 8) See you next month!
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