Sunday 9/10
After our morning walk we headed out with the truck. I dropped Nancy at Connie’s house and then went on up to the Flying J to top off our tanks. Normally we would wait and fill up at the cheapest point along our route, but with the hurricanes we decided to top off here in case of fuel shortages.
On our way out of the RV Park a lady flagged us down as we were leaving the park. She has a Showhauler motorhome on a Freightliner chassis (which we had admired) and her husband is in the hospital. They have reached the limit for their stay at Cherry Creek (14 days) and have to leave. She needed the motor home moved to the KOA about 35 miles away. She was panicky because she cannot drive the motorhome. I said sure, I can do it, so tomorrow I will drive it up to KOA for her.
Monday 9/11
Happy birthday to our friend Margie in Jacksonville, hope she survives hurricane Irma OK!
Yesterday afternoon I put a post on the Heavy DutyTruck forum at escapees.com and asked for advice about moving the Freightliner. Got some great suggestions and even a video that showed how to operate the auto trans. Great group of guys!
Headed out with the Freightliner first thing in the AM. The low fuel light was blinking (apparently they run their generator on the diesel) so we made a stop at Flying J on the way out of town. Two days in row fueling there! I was very surprised to see that the rig only has two 70 gallon tanks! Our Volvo has two 150 gallon tanks. Must be a space issue.
Uneventful trip out to the KOA east of Denver on I-70. I like driving my 18 year old Volvo better than this one. I suppose it’s normal for motor homes, but an awful lot of rattling from the living area.
Get her parked in a spacious site, hooked up the utilities and showed her how to dump her tanks when needed, then she brought me back into Denver.
I was not real impressed with the KOA. Sites looked a little tight, although her “patio site” was quite large. Park is only about 100 yards south of I-70 with train tracks running along the north side of the park!
Tuesday 9/12 to Sunday 9/17
Another nice week visiting family. Soccer practice, a couple of games, and hockey practice with the kids. Some really good meals at Connie and Laurie’s house.
Headed back towards Wisconsin this morning. Decided to take state and US highways instead of the interstate to Elm Creek this time. We went East on I-70 for 40 miles and then picked up US 36 almost to the Kansas line, then North on US 385 and East again on US 34 to US 183 North to Elm Creek, NE. A much more pleasant drive than fighting the traffic West across I-270 to I-76 and it took about the same time. Will most likely use this route again. Stopped in a community park in the village of Joe’s Colorado to have lunch we bought with us. Amenities a bit short on the route!
Sunday night at Sunny Meadows in Elm Creek, NE. Price went up since last time we stopped two weeks ago, but $20 is still a good deal. Finished the quiet eventful F1 race that we had recorded this morning before we left and then the first episode of the Vietnam War series on PBS.
Monday 9/18
First bad weather day of the trip. Stuck to I-80 and ran in light to medium rain much of the day. Mid-afternoon we passed a really nice mid-teens Rolls Royce tourer running along I-80 about 50 MPH! Lunch at the Cracker Barrel in Council Bluffs. Not a long day though. Settled into Timberline Campground in Waukee, IA. Went into West Des Moines for dinner at Culver’s, stopped at Hy Vee for groceries and back to Timberline.
Tuesday 9/19
Damp, foggy morning, but no rain. Short walk around the campground. A lot less crowded than it was on Labor Day weekend.
Again we decided to take a different route. Went North on I-35 to US 20 and then East to Rockford, IL. Pretty boring drive across the rest of Iowa, no better than I-80 actually. Once into Illinois though it a lot nicer drive through hilly country East of Galena.
Arrived at Blackhawk Valley Campground late in the afternoon. Nice spot and a good deal since it is a Passport America park, less than $20! Only drawback is in the name “Valley” no satellite coverage due to lots of trees and only a couple of local over-the-air stations - no PBS so we missed episode three of The Vietnam War. Joan said she is recording them, so we can watch it next week.
Wednesday 9/20
Short drive to Lake Geneva. Pulled into our friend John’s airplane hanger around noon. We will hook up water and electric and stay here for the weekend. Only a couple of miles from John’s family’s house where our friends will be gathering and five minutes from the Abby Resort harbor where the Geneva Lakes Boat Show will be taking place.
Got settled in, Nancy and I went into Walworth to a laundromat and then we had dinner with Patt and John along with his cousin Sue at Gordy’s.
Thursday 9/21
Nancy went to help Patt with show handout prep while I went with John to help unload the trailer and set up the displays and stock for the club sales tent at the Abby. Brutally hot day, 90 plus! We were pretty well exhausted by the time we finished.
Later in the afternoon I worked the launching ramp with Jim Olson, helping the entrants getting their boats in the water.
Really nice group dinner at Patt & John’s. Weekend group is growing, Eight couples plus a couple of singles there by the time the weekend was over!
Friday 9/22
Out early for the boat show house tour. Large group took three lake cruisers from the Fontana dock around to three magnificent houses and then lunch at the Lake Geneva Country Club. Don’t know the total, but there were five groups of 40 to 50 people. Houses were very impressive (one on the market for $7.1 million!) and lunch was excellent. Still hot, but a beautiful day for the tour on the lake.
Friday night’s dinner event was at a huge boathouse close to John’s hanger where we are camping. The gentleman is building a 70 foot lake cruiser and there would be room to put twi of them in this building. As it was about 250 people had cocktails and a sit down dinner next to the giant aluminum hull! Not to mention the huge, very modern woodworking shop and well equipped lounge area! He and his sons are working on constructing the interior of the boat, quite a project!
Saturday 9/23
Out early, Nancy helping with registration starting at 6:45 AM! I dropped her off and then returned to the trailer for breakfast and a shoer, then back to the Abby harbor where I worked the entrance tent until mid-afternoon. Still somewhere North of 90 degree, everyone seeking shade. Attendance seemed to be a little off this year, parking is always a problem and the theory is that some people did not want to walk long distances in the heat.
Another great dinner at Patt and John’s John’s brother-in-law Ned outdid himself with an excellent pork loin on the grill!
Sunday 9/24
Able to start a bit later this morning. Nancy and I both working the merchandise sale tent most of the day. Turned out to be a pretty good spot as the temperature remains really hot and the tent is in the shade. With a large barn fan running it was actually pretty pleasant.
At the end of the afternoon we helped pack up the merchandise and out away the displays. As opposed to Thursday setup we had some younger guys to help with the tear down so it went a lot faster and us geezers could avoid carrying the heavy stuff!
Once again Ken made a really nice dinner at Patt and John’s. Some of the group took off Saturday night and a few more did so today after the show.
Monday 9/25
Took our time this morning, short drive to Sycamore RV Resort. Nancy went into Walworth to do laundry while I did some maintenance on the truck and got hooked up. Dumped out tanks and headed for Sycamore a little after noon. About an easy hour’s drive and we settled in and relaxed. Fun, but busy weekend!
Tuesday 9/26
Morning walk and then we headed for Joan’s house in Tinley Park. Left the trailer in Sycamore. We will stay with Joan for three nights just visiting.
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