Today was almost a five hour drive, but since the goal was just to pull into my driveway with the trailer, I had no pressure. I thought perhaps hooking up would be an issue since I was on a slight incline, but it was not. I do think putting blocks under the stabilizer feet helps to keep the trailer from settling and thus getting into a position where I can not adjust the tongue to the right height to get on the ball or off its block. The first stretch of my ride on US 52 fr

Houston (house-ton), MN is home to the international owl center and festival, which I had the opportunity to attend a few years ago. They rehabilitate injured and orphaned owls and they have several teaching owls who can’t be released back to the wild, including a great horned, a snowy and a barred owl. Unfortunately, the center was not open either day I was there. However, I was also attracted to this area for biking a rail to trail and kayaking the Root River. I set out to

Today was a just under four hour drive day, so I was not totally destination driven. The plan was to take US 61 to US 52 with a short jog on US20. This is the heartland of the Midwest where those giant tractors I saw at the John Deere Pavillion show what they are made of on massive farms. The wind was again ever present. I pulled over for a rest, gas, and coffee after less than two hours. My daughter Amy had called me from France for help navigating her summer job plans whe

Truth be told there are five cities, but they go by the quad. Davenport and Bettendorf, IA, Rock Island, Moline and East Moline, IL. All built on the Mississippi River, it’s a hub for river barges and railroads. I started the day with a visit to the welcome center in Davenport. I got some brochures and then headed out on my bike. I saw migrating pelicans, and the Rock Island Arsenal from a distance and rode over the I74 bridge. But the most interesting part of the ride was ge

I got another early start and thank goodness for that. I still had part of Indiana to conquer and it was going to be windy again. While skirting Indianapolis, I remembered a work project I had here with Ascension Health. It was the first engagement I had where my counterpart at the customer kept throwing me under the bus because she didn’t want to do her job. And I remembered this funky little jog you have to take to move between i65 and I74 on a six lane stop and go road tho

I got my early morning start. The cats are getting more predictable as to where I can find them. They are really adjusting pretty well considering this can’t be their favorite way to live. I knew I was going to be on Rt 50 a lot of the day. I have driven this way before when taking or bringing Diana to college in Philippi freshman year. It’s dual but it a freeway so you get stop lights every once in awhile, which isn’t great for gas mileage with a trailer. But I had filled

Today was a scheduled rest day, but I don’t know how to rest when I’m in a new place. I pulled one of my travel adventures cards which were a gift from the ServiceNow MVPS when I retired. It said find something off the beaten path. After I had breakfast and language study, I asked the woman at the camp store finding a hidden gem., something off the beaten path. Well, you found us!” she said. Then she told me about the quilt tour and gave me a brochure. A fabric quilt hanging

The RV life is not for those who give up easily or who struggle with self confidence because just when you think you have the hang of it, a new challenge arises. I thought we my biggest challenges for today would be catching the cats because there are a lot of great niches for hiding. However, today it was trying to get the trailer jack foot off the stabilizer before hitching up. I’ve had this issue before because I was cranking the jack the wrong way. Today however, if I w

I realized I didn’t explain the trip in my first post. It shows how frazzled I was last night. I am enroute to Minnesota from Delaware and taking 11 days and the southerly route. For those of you who have followed other trips you may have noticed I didn’t mention Buddha. She crossed the rainbow bridge in late January, and the cats are with me because I’ll be in Minnesota for a few months. The cats are adjusting and the trailer with screened windows open all night is like 24/7

Today was grueling. There is no other word. I got a late start because I wanted to have a visit with a friend this morning before I set out. Then I had to finish packing and cleaning and by that time, the cats had decided to make themselves scare. I found Ethel quickly, but Lucy was in none of her usual hiding places. Luckily, I was able to narrow down the remaining hiding places and found her. They were not pleased about being in their kennels. By the time, o got to the camp

I’m not sure why I have such a hard time writing the last blog entry for every trip. I guess I don’t want them to end. For my last day on the road, the plan was to hook up and go to the Gettysburg visitor center (assuming it was open during the shutdown) and see the exhibits since I had not done that during my first visit. The ranger had recommended that I drive the battlefield instead. I had felt in retrospect he’d given me a bum steer because the battlefield was so overwhel

This morning, tired of oatmeal for breakfast, I heated up leftover fajita veggies from the Mexican restaurant and served them with two eggs over easy. Yummy! I didn’t unhook again last night, so it was easy to get going. I refueled before I got back on the turnpike and was on my way. I should have known the day would take some weird turns as soon as I turned off the turnpike to get on Rt 30, Lincoln Highway. I was tired of the turnpike and not eager to take the trailer throu

For me doing something new is exciting, but I am also very good at catastrophizing. I guess that is the project manager in me always thinking about what can go wrong. But as some have said, feel the fear but do it anyway and that is why I was on the road just before 9:30. I was an hour behind schedule, but not due to hooking up because I did that the night before. Just last minute packing and organizing. I pulled into the grocery store about five miles down the road just to d