We've had a whirlwind of activity since we arrived Sunday in Pennsylvania. We left Seibert, CO, last Thursday headed for Salina, KS. Weather was clear but there was a strong northwest wind, not the best time to be driving an RV, as it feels like driving a billboard down the road. I wasn't looking forward to going through Kansas, as I thought it was just flat and treeless. We arrived in Salina and were beginning to see rolling hills with trees along the creeks and draws. The second, third, and fourth pictures were taken in Kansas. You can see they have had plenty of rain.
The RV park was quiet, pleasing, and neat, around a man-made lake, and we had a good night's rest. The first picture is this campground. Wifi worked great! We even drove into Salina and did some shopping at Wallyworld. We found very courteous, friendly folk in Salina.
We carefully watched the weather reports and saw that rain was headed toward Missouri, again. We checked the DOT website and, after seeing how many roads in Missouri were closed, decided to scrap plans for staying overnight in Missouri. So we took off early and just started driving. In Missouri, several of the frontage roads were under water! We were able to get through the rest of Kansas, through Missouri, and about 50 miles into Illinois with only a few sprinkles in Missouri. Check out the mighty Mississippi at St. Louis in the last picture--muddy, swirling water but we had no problem getting across the bridge into IL, thankfully.
Our RV park in Illinois was off the road and amidst some tall trees. We were happy to be off the road, resting, and noticed that we had dodged a bullet in MO, as they had more heavy rain and we would have been caught in it. But I digress. Back to the RV park. It was one of those weekend destinations for ?locals?, with built-in patios around most of the rvs, and LOTS of kiddos running around. Kids were driving golf carts all over the place. Our site overlooked a cornfield, and after the young lady had directed us to the site, she came over and smiled sweetly, saying that if we wanted to use Wifi we had to walk up to the office with our laptops! Was I ever steamed! They advertise Wifi and then you can't get it except at the office. So, we ate some dinner and then headed up to the office. We sat down on a swing at the porch and got online. We were immediately attacked by mosquitos, due to the fact that there were ponds, well, they called them "lakes", all around the park. After checking our email, we returned to the rv for a well-deserved night's rest.
Southern Illinois is not the most scenic area in the world, but we were once again reminded of the richness of our farmlands in the midwest, from eastern Colorado, to Kansas, not so much in Missouri, but lots of nice farms in Illinois. We took off the next day for Richmond, IN. Gary was still a bit tired but we knew we had to get on down the road. I should add that driving this motor home is a piece of cake compared to driving the truck and 5th wheel that we used to have, since the seats and padded and comfy, and the suspension is more forgiving than the one-ton truck we used to drive. HOWEVER, the roads in Illinois and Indiana were pretty rough and we had lots of potholes on the drive. You feel them, too!
We were headed for Grandpa's Farm outside Richmond, IN. We had stayed there many years ago and it was a lovely place. Well, not so this time. I was surprised to see an area that looked like an RV sales lot, it was so crowded. There were folks, kids, and dogs everywhere. Apparently it, too, was a weekend destination for locals. We were escorted to our site, after paying $30, and settled in...or tried to. The back of our MH was not 30 feet from a two-lane highway, and we immediately noticed the loudness of vehicles going by. It was like living beside a racetrack. To add to that, the next-door neighbors, about 10 feet away, lit up a smouldering campfire, which wafted over to our site. We went to bed and it had warmed up a bit, so I tried to open the window but their porch light and smoke made it difficult to get to sleep, not to mention the loud mufflers going by on the highway. So I closed the window, pulled down the shade, and Gary put on the thunderstorm CD for me. I was able to get to sleep but we were glad to get out of there! That's just one of the inconvenient parts of living our lifestyle.
Pennsylvania is a beautiful state, I have to admit. Spring is just beginning here, but dogwood and rhodendrons are blooming everywhere. We arrived at our destination in Pennsylvania about 3:30 in the afternoon last Sunday. We've been coming to this campground for years and know the campground owners. We were welcomed by the owner, who was out mowing grass. He's always working on something. Gary's brother and his wife came out on their motorcycle and we visited with them for a couple of hours. Then the folks next door came over and asked if we'd like to sit around their campfire, and they were going to have a jam session! So, I unpacked the banjo and headed over there. I should add that the sites here are very large, compared to most of the other rv parks we've stayed at, so the campfire smoke didn't wind up in our rig!
The campground owner's wife, Francine, plays mandolin and loves old-time bluegrass. They had invited a young fellow over who played banjo and fiddle. We were treated to some great music, until...I tried to play! I still have stage fright and fumble with my playing. I was embarrassed but they were very encouraging. It made me realize that I need more practice.
We visited Gary's mom, who lives about 10 miles north of us, and his second youngest brother. He has four of them! We still haven't seen the other two. Everyone has to work and we usually have to wait until the weekends to visit.
We've been looking at houses since we arrived, and saw one yesterday that we liked. Today we have an appointment with the realtor to look at the house. I get a little nervous about spending money but seems like a good time to buy a house. Unfortunately, there aren't many that we saw in our price range that we liked. I want something in a quiet area, near town, with a little acreage, CHEAP, easy to drive to. We aren't getting any younger and have to be careful about what we buy. So, we'll keep you posted!
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