The months pass so quickly....

We had some family issues and had to return to Dothan for the winter. We are helping our daughter at her business for awhile. While here our dear friends Terry and Billy moved to Colorado and we are very sad. However the good news is we have a place to retreat to when the tempatures soar to the 100+ degrees here in Dothan.

In the meantime, we are getting ready for the Christmas season. We have a 2 foot tree on the dashboard (complete with lights) and gifts around it. We bought a TV for the living area to watch all the Christmas specials on, and am looking forward to spending time with family. Then it will be off to Colorado for a much needed respite in January.

From Salt Lick to Amelia

Upon leaving Salt Lick, Kentucky for Amelia, Virginia we got all of 10 miles and had a blow out on the RV. Good Sam Roadside Service came to our rescue and within 4 ½ hours we had our spare on and were down the road in search of a new tire. The tire that blew out was a Goodyear with only 1200 miles on it. So we found a Goodyear store and they could not help us. You see, if you have no tread left after a blow out, they have no way to pro-rate your tire. So we continued on into West Virginia and found a Firestone dealership, where we replaced three tires with heavy duty truck tires, and decided to deal with Goodyear later.




Now we are in Amelia, Virginia. It is south of Richmond and in the heart of the rock hounding/mining areas. We visited the Lucky Gem Mine and panned for gems out of buckets of sand and clay. It was fun and we came away with some really nice rough gems. We have been touring the back roads seeing unusual sites (Tom thought this old school would be a good teaching job for me) and looking for gems in the creeks. Tom sunk in a hole in one but came up with a nice Geode. I think maybe next time he should get a life vest for creek wading. 








We will be going to Colonial Virginia at the end of the week and to the Blackstone Art and Craft Fair next weekend (YEAH!!). In the meantime we will search for more gem mines and creeks in hopes of finding our fortune. 

Indiana

We moved on from Illinois to Indiana. Before making the move we bought groceries. Pictured are the things that appeared in the cart via a little helper named Tom.


YELLOW BANKS RECREATION CENTER

This place is an old family farm that has been around since 1840. It has been converted into a recreation/art center. They have a beautiful manmade lake and a pond with log cabins for rent around it. Some nice RV sites and a few seasonal sights as well. And you couldn't ask for nicer people.

Also they have a clay foundry and produce beautiful pottery work from the clay. I had the opportunity to watch the potter spin some mugs on his wheel and was amazed at how quickly and expertly he was able to produce two in less than 5 minutes. He was a wealth of information regarding clay and glaze properties. All this while working on a special order for 100 mugs. Now, if I could only fit a wheel and kiln into the RV…….hmmmmm.

This is a very talented family, as the Grandmother (in her 90’s) is a professional quilter and the potter’s mother makes miniatures for sale. His Aunt is a published author of spinning and cooking with wild flowers books. In addition, she owns a country store in a nearby town that sells Yellow Bank pottery. The potter’s wife works at the family store/diner (the only store in Selvin) as a cook and waitress. Oh yes and let’s not forget dear old Dad, who is a retired business teacher, and runs the recreation center. I think that he strongly believes diversification is a good thing.

This certainly has been an interesting place to stop and I hope to come back again. Tomorrow we move further east to see new things and meet new people.

Illinois State Museum and Sesser

We visited the Illinois State Museum located right here on Rend Lake. They boost exhibiting the works of over 750 Illinois artist. It was an amazing place. They had quilts, ceramics, photography, jewelry, pottery, paper art and the list just went on to every kind of real art you can think of. We especially liked the recycled works (Tom’s new Rock Band….”The Tinmen Group”….now playing at an RV park near you) and the very large ceramic roosters. It was a fun place to visit and gave us some great ideas for future projects. Now, if I could only learn to light the welding torch without taking off my eyebrows, then I could make some birds and bugs too. Hmmmm....






The rest of the weekend we did laundry in Sesser (population; 2128), took the dogs for a swim and then gave the dogs baths. Sesser is a stop sign in the road. It is so small they do NOT have a traffic light. Just one 4 way stop. One Grocery store. Two gas stations. A Public library. One Laundromat. One ice cream palace and a dozen antique shops. A very cute and laid back place. Today we went back to Sesser to buy milk and bread and explore an antique shop as long as we were there. (Tom still does not get my fascination with “old used stuff”.I'm working on that one.)

Rend Lake, IL

We are in southern Illinois at Rend Lake. It is very peaceful here. We got lucky and reserved a spot that has sewer hook-up so we don't have to move the coach until we leave. We went into Benton and Marion yesterday to resolve some of our previous issues (MiFi and converter)and was pleased to find that both are very busy communities with lots to offer. We have decided to just use our oven for storage and find a toaster oven. So if you know of anyone that has an extra, Tell them to give me a jingle.

The lake is very pretty here and the tempatures are mild (mid to low 80's)during the day and cool (low 60's) at night. We hope to get some fishing in and do a little sightseeing of the area in the next few days.

When things get you down....

Did you ever have one of those days where everything you touched was sh*t. Well today was one of those days for me. I hate it when things don’t work like they are intended to. It really started last night when I went to make dinner. It appears my oven, which has never been used, does not work. The pilot light lights but the gas does not go into the oven burner allowing the oven to warm. Then this morning and afternoon I spent 3 hours on the phone with the MiFi people trying to make it connect to more than one devise (laptop) at a time. He final words were “I’ll check back with you after you take it all to a store front and see what they can do for you.” In the middle of all this our RV converter once again failed to charge the coach battery so we had to run the engine for a while to charge the house batteries. That is on our list of things to try to fix tomorrow. (Pray for us, we have no idea what we are looking for, but if the low battery alarms go off again at 4 am, you may find me sleeping in the back of my car.) Then as long as I was on a roll, I decided to call the satellite company again, (yes, I tried to fix this yesterday too!!) and find out why we have no satellite reception. You see yesterday I was told to call my hardware manufacturer, that it was not a service provider issue. So being fair to the young man today, I told him what I was told and that passing the buck was not a resolution I was happy with. So when he gentle suggested that today, I explained that the hardware was on our rooftop and asked if he would send his mother to a roof to try and fix her satellite. He was very sweet but was not able to fix our satellite issue either, so tomorrow morning I get to take on the hardware manufacturer. Lucky me. Finally at the end of the day, I look out to find Tom sitting at the picnic table repairing our new (only used 3 times) Instant Fisherman Poles. They have a ten year warranty, so one would think they would at least last 10 times before they no longer cast properly.

I give up. I am going to bed knowing God will give me a better day tomorrow.

Grand Rivers

Yesterday, Laurie and Wayne came up to visit with us. It was a very warm day in Grand Rivers, however Laurie and I managed to walk about town and peruse to shops while the guys stayed back at the air conditioned coach and watched the dogs. We had a nice visit and really enjoyed seeing them.

Today was another hot day in Grand Rivers, so we just went to church here on the campgrounds and then headed to the local bakery for muffins. Let me rephrase that, for the most delicious muffins ever to be made, muffins. They have about 20 different flavors to choose from and they are so moist and tasty. So if you are ever in Grand Rivers, go to the Lite Side Cafe and Bakery for a muffin or two. (Sorry, they are only open Thursday – Sunday.)

The Storm and a Prayer

Last night we had a tremendous storm. As the wind was about to kick up we took up the awning, gave the dogs a quick walk and tucked our outside rug under the RV. The first gust of 70 mile an hour winds took down our screen house down and set it in the road. So we ran out and secured it down by placing our reclining chairs on top of it, hoping that we could salvage it after the storm was over.

With everything secure, we settled in to watch the storm. Then through the trees lining the canal emerge a young man and woman. They came straight to our door and asked for refuge from the storm. Of course we said yes. They were fishermen out scouting for a spot for this weekend’s upcoming tournament. We chatted for a while about kids (they have 5 between them) and they showed us pictures on their cell phones of both kids and very large fish they have caught. Then when the storm had settled a little, we gave them our rain ponchos and they were off in their little boat to the other side of the lake and home. Tom said a prayer of safety as they left.

They were very nice people, and their names were Mary and Joseph.
Heaven sent? We are thinking so.

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Matthew 25: 34-36

Paducah and the NQM

Paducah is a very nice city. The art district was wonderful. Lots of cities have tried to do this sort of thing but not many have been successful. They have murals along one road that depict the history of Paducah and on the other side is a park in front of the waterway. In the heart of it all is the National Quilt Museum. This was our destination point for the day. As a quilter (novice in comparison to those on exhibit) I loved the works within the museum. Many of them took years to produce and the details in each were out of this world. It was very inspiring.

Then we went on to a photography museum that had an exhibit of their yearly contest. I was very surprised at some of the works. Tom feels that maybe I should enter next year's contest.

We did find an ice cream shop that makes its own ice cream. So after a little snack, we went through the dozen or so antique shops within the area. It was fun with Tom saying "who collects this old junk" in each shop. He truly does not get the need some people have for antiques.

Paducah's outskirts provided all the necessities: Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Chinese food and an ice machine.

One place I did not get to, but promise to return to soon, was the Eleanor Burns "Quilt it in a Day" shop. So look for our next visit to Paducah next weekend when we take in "The 8th of August Celebration".

This weekend was spent resting, sewing and just hanging out with the dogs.

Grand Rivers

We are in Grand Rivers for a couple of weeks. It is a cute little tourist town. There are a bunch of antique shops and it is as common to see golf carts on the road as it is to see cars. We spent yesterday walking around the town (main street), visiting the shops, stopped for ice cream and we were back at the RV within 2 hours. They have a place called Pattie's 1880 Settlement which is very nice and famous for its 2 inch pork chops. www.pattis-settlement.com

Today it threatened rained all day. so we just stayed at the RV and rested.

Catching up to Kentucky

We are now in Kentucky. We are only 65 miles from our last stop but it took us two hours to get here.

Let's catch up. Laurie and I did the flea market sale thing on friday and saturday with my bibs and her pens and pencils but sales were reflective of the national economy. Very depressing. But on a lighter note, Laurie and Wayne came up for dinner on Sunday. I was able to find some fresh corn to go with our grilled chicken and macaroni salad. We all ate too much but it was so good. Tom believes that food cooked outside always taste better. I believe that food cook by someone else always taste better (hint, hint). Anyways we started to take things down after they left as we moved on Monday. Then on monday we finished tearing down and made the trip north to Grand Rivers, Kentucky.


The new site is very very nice. As we pulled in I negotiated a better site than the one we had reserved. We are in a fairly new section that has several pull-thurs on blacktop. No backing up required. YEAH!!! And we have a great view across the roadway to the canal. The site is very large with a nice commons area behind us, a reunion size picnic area down the roadway and there are only large RV's in this section.

Grand Rivers is a unique little town that sits at the top of Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. Today we will venture forth into town to find ice and some other supplies for the duration of our stay and explore a little.