Yesterday was our first full day of travel as we make our way to South Dakota. I confess... I do believe in omens - weather being one. Yesterday was incredibly clear and warm as we made our way across southern Minnesota. Based on the advice of a friend, Lee, who delivers motor homes all over the U.S. and Canada, we chose to travel south of Chicago and pick up Interstate 90 across the southern section of MN. We made two "detours" to check out fall colors and whatever else we stumbled across. Check out the pictures on "Picture Perfect Places We Wandered."
As we drove west, we saw two different windmill "farms, " Evidently MN invested 3.3 million around 2009, and the biggest news of the day was they didn't turn in cold weather dubbing the area in winter a "no spin zone." I was unable to find any updates on that aspect. They must be doing something right though. The initial purchase for the state was fairly small, and what we saw were many more than I could count. I downloaded this YouTube video of the turbines at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elj_FMnbmk8
They are mesmerizing.
On the domestic side, I had this great idea to make beef stew while we were running down the road our first day. The inverter is always on when we are running since we have a residential refrigerator that requires electricity converted to 110. We discovered Rival Crock Pots don't like electricity converted from 12 volt to 110 through our inverter. Now lest you think I've gotten smarter since retirement, understand I don't have a clue about electricity, but I do know when something is burning. Where there's smoke, there's fire. Off to Bed, Bath and Beyond for another crock pot. It wasn't until the second one started smoking that we realized what was going on, Hopefully, I pulled the plug before permanent damage was done. Who knew some appliances don't like some types of electricity? Yet another lesson learned.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
We seem to have brought new meaning to the word "travel." Our departure date of Sept. 15th has come and gone. Still in Elkhart... but journeys are happening. Given the gift of time, we've spent more great time with family and met new friends. This last Saturday a gathering of good friends literally weathered rain and hail to attend our "open house." The more people showed up, the better the weather got.
We've organized and reorganized and peeled off more layers as we wait to get started. No one needs that many clothes. We've learned we don't have to be in motion to be on a journey. Patience and flexibility have been ingredients for keeping sane under conditions that can't be controlled.
Enough of that. We want to go! That is the main reason for doing all this after all. It looks like that just might happen soon. The infection which has kept Jerry tethered to Elkhart General Hospital each morning for antibiotics is under control. Packing is almost complete. Our new tentative departure date is this Friday, September 28th around noon. We will travel to South Dakota first. Then we head to Red Bay, Alabama for Whale maintenance. After that we are back to Elkhart for important family celebrations. Then south to Naples, Florida for warm weather and close friends.
... and a continuation of this entry is as of 3:00 p.m. Friday, September 28th we are on the road!!! After all this time, it's hard to believe we are finally headed out of town. First destination - Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Since our official state of residence is now SD, we must go there to get drivers' licenses. The rule is we must stay 24 hours to get our licenses. SD is one of a handful of states that allow RV'ers to do this. While we are in Sioux Falls, we will pick up our mail (mail order service) and get to see where our address is. They keep telling us it's a real place, but I suspect I can't park the whale in that spot. More about that later. We hope to get to Sioux Falls by Saturday night in order to do some wandering on Sunday. Licenses and voting on Monday will finish our business in SD for this year. Then we are on to Red Bay, Alabama for warranty work on the Whale. I'm eager to see what SD and points south look like in early fall!
We've organized and reorganized and peeled off more layers as we wait to get started. No one needs that many clothes. We've learned we don't have to be in motion to be on a journey. Patience and flexibility have been ingredients for keeping sane under conditions that can't be controlled.
Enough of that. We want to go! That is the main reason for doing all this after all. It looks like that just might happen soon. The infection which has kept Jerry tethered to Elkhart General Hospital each morning for antibiotics is under control. Packing is almost complete. Our new tentative departure date is this Friday, September 28th around noon. We will travel to South Dakota first. Then we head to Red Bay, Alabama for Whale maintenance. After that we are back to Elkhart for important family celebrations. Then south to Naples, Florida for warm weather and close friends.
... and a continuation of this entry is as of 3:00 p.m. Friday, September 28th we are on the road!!! After all this time, it's hard to believe we are finally headed out of town. First destination - Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Since our official state of residence is now SD, we must go there to get drivers' licenses. The rule is we must stay 24 hours to get our licenses. SD is one of a handful of states that allow RV'ers to do this. While we are in Sioux Falls, we will pick up our mail (mail order service) and get to see where our address is. They keep telling us it's a real place, but I suspect I can't park the whale in that spot. More about that later. We hope to get to Sioux Falls by Saturday night in order to do some wandering on Sunday. Licenses and voting on Monday will finish our business in SD for this year. Then we are on to Red Bay, Alabama for warranty work on the Whale. I'm eager to see what SD and points south look like in early fall!
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