The Beginning…
Posted 07-17-2021
Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.
Josh Billings
The adventure begins…
We spent the beginning months of 2021 getting the house ready to sell, getting rid of our stuff and making repairs etc. Put the house on the market, had a contract two weeks later and closed two weeks after that. This is really happening!
Left for Defeated Creak campground in Tennessee on June 27th for a pre-planned camp out with our friends Kenny and Angie (Very nice COE park, one of our favorites, about ½ the park are full hook ups.) Drove back to BG on the 28th to close and then back to Defeated Creak. At this point we are officially homeless. Left on July 5th heading back to BG for two final weeks to spend with friends and family and make final preparations to travel.
Stayed at the BG KOA which was surprisingly nice but expensive. Has good Wi-Fi and cell service. Finished running some errands and Renee had therapy on her broken right arm. All good. Did laundry etc. Had dinner at El Maz with Kenny/Angie and Patricia/Larry Friday eve then went to Troy and Myranda’s on Saturday for late lunch and say good byes to everyone. I think all the kids will miss us. Tiffany will and is busy with family and work. Joseph will miss us too; told us that he told his boss about our travel plans and may need to come get us if we get into trouble. Myranda calls us most nights still and I think is slightly worried for us (they all are I think). Left KOA for Indy on July 12th for two nights.
Indy KOA is nice but very very expensive. But not much else around the area. It is interesting… those who seem to stay at KOA’s have the big Class-A’s and fancy rigs and who do a lot of traveling… those who have money. Those who stay at COE parks like to “camp” and the outdoors… any maybe don’t have as much money (like us).
Went to see my parents at a retirement home that Tuesday (July 13th). They are doing well. Dad is staying busy with activities. Mom is getting tired of the restaurant and wants to cook in their apartment, don’t blame her. They are renting their house in Terre Haute, Indiana as they were not sure if they would like it or not… looks like they do like it… for now.
Left Indy for St Louis on the 14th.
Arrived at Sundermeier RV park that afternoon. The roads beat us up pretty good. A shelf in the front storage came loose, had to fix it. The RV Park is a large concrete parking lot. Is clean, etc., but not like a COE campground with tress, fire pits and the like. Good for a few nights stay over. Lot of expensive big class-a’s here.
Renee’s legs have been swollen for a couple of weeks and she just told me that the dark spots on her legs are puffing out. We sent a message to the Vanderbilt docs and they wanted labs. So, we received the orders and went to the local hospital to get her blood drawn. Also went to Waffle house to eat breakfast and Walmart for groceries. We did a lot in a couple of days. Talked about making our stops 3 nights instead of two… never know what might happen where you need the extra time. Also noticed that the toilet was leaking around the base. Ordered a new seal from Amazon for delivery in an Amazon locker in Lawrence KS.
Left here for Cedar Ridge COE in Lawrence KS on July16th (Friday). Roads were good. We are averaging about 50 miles per hour. Driving between 60 and 65 depending on the road, traffic, and the weather. Camper is pulling good and the truck has plenty of power. We stop about 30-50 miles out at a rest area to go pee, then stop again about 1-1.5 hours later for pee, dog pee, and lunch. 1st Renee and I go pee, then back to the truck. Then I get our lunch from the camper fridge that Renee has prepared ahead of time. Give it to Renee and she gets things ready in the truck. Then I take each dog, one at a time to pee. Come back to the truck and eat lunch. If it is hot we keep the engine running with air conditioner on. We are stopped for about 30 min. I have been having to help Albert with steps. So, I just pick him up and put him where he needs to be. It is like Albert and Rene’e are tied together in the great cosmos. He is getting slower but still seams ok. He can’t hear so we clap which he responds to most of the time.
Both dogs I think are adapting to the RV life. They are used to having a fenced backyard to run in. So, whenever we get a chance I let Jake run… otherwise he just kinda lays around. I can tell when he is happy or bored.
Arrived at Cedar Ridge, good typical COE campground at $11 per night with Renee’s ACCESS Card discount. Some mud here as it has been raining. Sites are older black top. Nice large campground. Got our electric bikes out and did some riding around. Noticed toilet leaking around base, ordered a seal to be delivered to a Amazon Locker in Lawrence KS, installed, all good to go. I can tell we are in the mid-west again. Even the grass smells different and familiar, reminds me of growing up hunting, fishing, etc. There are some Cotton Wood trees here with the little cotton thingys floating around. Renee is sleeping in this morning… been busy the last few days.
There is a small town about a mile away from the campground called Clinton and they have a small store… did not go in but it looks interesting.
