Our 5th Adventure Begins!

December 21, 2018

We got the Jeep back around noon yesterday. They said it was working but I promptly went out to check it out for myself.

Side note: Riverside in Escanaba really did everything they could to get us on the road as soon as possible. From the minute I called and the Service Manager said bring it over we will get it right in until we picked it up they were nothing but helpful. 

Finally back in the driveway.

The light is staying on.

We spent the rest of Thursday packing and putting back everything into the Stinger "B' that we had brought in the house the past 10 days as we needed it. When I mentioned the house was empty last week I mean it was empty. No utensils, not salt and pepper, the fridge was empty, no soap, no pots and pans, etc... etc... I think you get the idea.

We were up at 4:30AM this morning taking care of the last minute things and at 6:05AM Tom backed the Stinger  "B" out of the driveway.

Locking the back door for what very well may be the last time was a strange feeling. I first walked through this door back in 1963 when my parents purchased this house. They lived there 31 years and Tom and I bought this house in 1994. The first holiday I celebrated in this house was Thanksgiving 1963 with my mom and dad, sister and two brothers. The last holiday we celebrated in this house was Thanksgiving 2018 with our children and grandchildren. Lots of memories walk out this door with Tom and I including our first kiss which happened outside this door. Believe it or not he remembered as we left.

I took this picture last week just before we left.

Tom has driven off in the Stinger "B" and I have stopped at the end of the
driveway remembering. I can see my Anniversary Rose in the window.

It just seemed fitting somehow to leave it here.

One last picture before I drive over to St. Anne's parking lot where
Tom is waiting to hook up the Jeep.

I have done my part and now Tom finishes the hook up.

Our daughter and granddaughter came to say goodbye and
are now helping check the lights.

Every thing is a go and we pulled out of Escanaba this morning at 6:45AM.

Traveling south through Wisconsin

We are in Illinois.
Going over the Illinois River..
Thought you might like this water tower, Patsy.

It was a long first day but we are now parked at the Princess Wenona RV Oasis. It is cold out  the AccuWeather on my phone says 34 degrees as I write this; factor in the wind and the real feel is 21 degrees. But we have electricity so the furnace is running along with our electric heaters. Inside we will be warm and cozy our first night on the road for our 5th Adventure.

" Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass,

it's about learning to

DANCE IN THE RAIN."

                                                                                                  ~Vivian Greene

Today's quote is one of my favorites.

It was a cold dreary day as we made our way south today but we had a good day. 

We hope you did, also.

We are glad you stopped by and if you would like to leave a comment we would enjoy reading it.

We Found A Weather Window

December 15, 2017

After getting up at 5:00AM on the 13th and 14th with no luck on the 15th it was a go. We pulled out of Escanaba about 9:30AM.

As mentioned above we were up again on the 15th at 5:00AM to start packing what was left into the Stinger "B". (Everything we did not want to freeze.)  As you can see we did have some snow.

We would like to take a moment here to thank our daughter for being there to help us get the Stinger "B" packed and for taking the pictures. She really hates to see us go so we are doubly thankful that she helped us leave.

In the center picture we are kicking up our heels, one each,
as we prepare to finally leave.

Backing out of the driveway at about 6:30AM.
We live across from the High School and wanted to beat the school traffic.

Parked in St. Anne's parking lot where we would hook up the jeep
in a few hours and be on our way.

Our empty driveway.

Out to breakfast with our daughter, Rachel, and granddaughter, Charlotte.

We are on M-35 and leaving the Winter Wonderland behind us.

About 60 miles down the road we cross over the Menominee River and
we are in Wisconsin. The roads continue to improve.
Once we were past Green Bay, another 60 miles, they were clear and dry.

We crossed into Illinois and except for a small a dusting here and there
 the snow is gone.
In the bottom picture we could see the sun setting right at the edge of
the cloud cover.

Our first sunset and it was beautiful!
I took this out the side window as we were still on the move.

About an hour after dark we arrived at our destination for the night. I had a vague memory of someone posting on their blog that they had stayed at a gas station with electric hook-ups in 

Wenona, IL. (It surprises me what I file away sometime.) After some research I found the information on RVing the USA is our Big Backyard . I had a feeling it was were I had read it, since, they live in Wisconsin and would probably follow the same route as we would south. Some more research on line and I found that it was called The Princess Wenona RV Oasis. The number listed was disconnected but I did find a review from three months ago so with fingers crossed, we have been doing a lot of that lately, I plugged the name into google maps and "Hazel" delivered us there. For $20 we had electricity which means we had heat and slept all nice and cozy warm. They do have full hookups but at this time of the year their water is shut off. 

After putting 388 miles behind so ended our first day on the road.

December 16, 2017

We slept in this morning until 6:30AM and by around 8:00AM we were on the road again. Through Illinois heading towards St. Louis, MO. 

Leaving the UP was a little hard on the vehicles.
The poor black Jeep took the worst of it.

Our first sighting of the Gateway Arch. The front windshield is a little dirty. 

There is something about crossing the Mississippi River and seeing the Arch that says you are headed West.

Then we are crossing the Mississippi River.

We are in Missouri.

This was the first time, this year, we could here the engine working as
we headed up a couple of hills.

Some more pictures of the road ahead.
In the center a sign we have not seen since last April.

You know you are headed West when you
are looking our the front window and this
is the view.
Very bright sunlight.

We are now stopped for the night in a rest area just past Conway, MO. Our first night of  "pavement boondocking" this trip. It was after dark when we got here but I will take the time to take pictures in the morning. We stopped here once before back in 2015, though not over night, and there are some cute little Route 66 buildings (reproductions) here. Interesting little side tidbit today's mileage 388 miles we do not know how we managed to do that two days in a row. 

Good night for now. Tomorrow will be another long day and then we will stop for a couple of days, catch our breath and de-winterize the Stinger "B".

ADVENTURE 4 BEGINS!

We have had two good days and hope you did, also.

If you wish to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.