Adventures in Child Care

When our son, Joe, asked us if we could watch his girlfriend, Mary’s, two boys every weekday for a few hours we did not hesitate to say yes.  For the summer Mary has the boys except every other weekend.  Both Joe and Mary work 2nd shift so they asked if we would watch them from 2-5 every weekday. (They will make arrangements if we have something else going on.) Mary’s mom would pick them up after she gets off work from Beloit, take them back to Beloit till Mary got off work in Janesville, then Mary would pick them up in Beloit and then they would go back home to Janesville.  After mulling this routine over for a few days, we decided it would be better for the kids if we watched the kids on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 2-11.  It just did not seem like much of a summer for the boys to spend all that time on the road. So we began this new endeavor this past Tuesday.  

I want to try to give the boys a little more to do than just play on their own or watch cartoons all day.  While they have their snacks I have worksheets, coloring or puzzle sheets for them to do. I would like to get them to spend time reading. too. This week I thought we would make sugar crystals and go on a nature walk with a bingo sheet to find various plants and critters.  We plan a trip to the Henry Vilas Zoon in Madison and the Discovery Center in Rockford. Another thought I had was to have them take pictures and we would edit, print and frame some for their room at home. 

We’ll see how it goes.

Maiden Voyage

We picked up our trailer on February 23.  We spent a month making stuff fit.  After having tons of cabinets and outside storage in the motorhome, we had to re-assess what we actually needed and cull what was not. It was a surprise when we did not fill every nook and cranny inside. 

Some of the items from the motorhome’s outside storage we decided not to use.  Remaining items were packed into storage containers that go in the back of the truck and larger items go in as is.

So with all that taken care of, we set a date for an overnighter. Of course we waited until the weather was back to the usual March cold after a stretch of above normal temps. We loaded our food and overnight bag the night before, Tom filled the water tank and we were set. 

It was a bright, beautiful day.  We just were going to Kettle Moraine State Forest South, Ottawa Lake Campground about 40 miles away. We hitched up the trailer, put the boys in their car seats and were off.  What a nice, quiet ride.  (In the motorhome we sat next to the motor and had the constant rattle behind us from blinds, pots, pans, dishes and stove.)  Now any noise was contained in the trailer.  The hour-long ride got us there about 10:30 a.m. No reservations are needed for the end of March, so we picked out an area we wanted to be in via Google Earth the day before.  Most sites there were level and there were only 3 campers there when we arrived. We were set-up in short order, although we did need to tweak our initial leveling job. 

The campground area is compact, but is part of the 22,000 acre State Forest which features a 3,500 acre wet prairie considered the largest native wet prairie east of the Mississippi.  54-miles of hiking trails ranging from level to hilly topography.  Campground amenities include a playground, picnic areas, volleyball courts and Ottawa Lake with a beach and handicap accessible fishing pier.  The water was crystal clear. Tom bought a fishing license and brought his pole and gear but it was too cold to be outside for long. 

The furnace got a good test and we were toasty warm inside.  The dogs and I took a nap in bed in the sun. We played cards, made supper and watched some TV.  The only glitch we had was we forgot our planned supper.  We had a thunderstorm during the early morning hours but we were fine.  We got a break in the rain to break camp around 9 and were home by 10 a.m.

I would like to go back when the weather is better.

RV Shopping

We like to camp.  We have a great time on our monthly campouts with our camping club friends.  We also like to travel and see the country.  We have visited all 48 contiguous states and parts of Canada over the years. 

Off and on we thought of replacing our motorhome with a newer model, but ours keeps on going like the energizer bunny and parting with the cash (as anyone that knows us will attest) is a hard thing for us to do.  Weighing cost and need, when the need was not there, has kept us from taking the plunge. 

As noted in previous posts, our most recent big trip was fraught with problems.  Our 17+ year old RV is finally showing it’s age.  The engine has low miles and has been well maintained but the body and other components are still old.  So before it becomes totally devalued and it starts nickel and diming us, we decided to get serious.

The first thing to do is try to market our RV, etc..  We placed ads on Craigslist for the RV, our Suzuki Grand Vitara, tow bar and brake buddy and waited.  The responses we received did not pan-out.

Meanwhile,we went to the RV show in Madison and saw many nice, new RVs of all types. We looked at trailers as well as motorhomes with a different perspective.  What were the basics we need and what would fit our budget.  This ruled out motorhomes and 5th wheels, so we focused our attention on travel trailers.

Now we’ve really got the itch.  We went hither and yon following up on online ads and saw some nice units.  The problem was getting ours vehicles sold.  Most dealers would consider a trade for a more expensive trailer but we would have to take a huge hit on our RV, and we still had the Suzuki and other equipment to sell.

Everything came together last week when we stopped at a local dealer who was really willing to deal. He offered to send someone out to take a look at our motorhome and the Suzuki for trade-in value.  The following day he called back with the results.  We would be able to trade even, the motorhome and Suzuki for a NEW 2008 that he needed to move.  The only cost was license, and titling fees.  And that same morning we had someone purchase our brake buddy braking system.  Done deal.

Of course we now needed a tow vehicle, which we found in Rockford, a 2002 Chevy Silverado extended cab with a fiberglass topper.

We get it Wednesday. We are relieved to have it all settled.

The Heat Has Taken its Toll

This trip has been exhausting!  I think about 3/4 of it can be credited to the heat and humidity.

Here in Nashville tropical storm Lee has finally bought relief from a summer of temperatures in the high 90s and low 100s and we are relieved as well. Since our second day out night time low temps have been in the mid-to upper 70s. It has been raining all night and is currently 61 outside.

The Nashville area had not received any rain for six weeks and until yesterday the grass was dry and brittle. Trees here do not seem as stressed as further south, as those areas have had a prolonged drought. In the Chattanooga area we noticed the trees on the mountainsides appeared to be changing colors.  When we got closer the “color change” was not that at all, the trees were actually brown and very dead looking.  At the campground we stayed at in Elko, GA, the annuals they had planted around the park were dried up and withered as were many of the established ornamental shrubs in the landscape.

We are looking forward to getting home. Yes, even snow when it comes.

How Does a Week Fly By

The whole point of the trip To Florida was to see new Grandson, Jacob.  He did not disappoint.  He is adorable.  Grandmother talking.  No, really he is.

We did try to help out as best we could.  We ran Brandon to school a couple of times and picked them up from school also.  They just started school two days before we arrived.  Ally has changed schools and they now go to different schools.  They both have homework each night so we didn’t hang around in the evening so they could get that done.

Ally turned 11 on Thursday so the grandparents Smith and Schlueter went out to eat with Ally and family to Olive Garden.  Baby, Jacob, does really well in restaurants as far as we’ve can tell.  We went to Anna Maria’s Oyster Bar the night we left and he was fine there too. 

Both Ally and Brandon are very bright.  Ally is very musical and is taking choir in school.  She was part of an extracurricular choir for two years but since here school offers choir as an elective she is taking that.  She also can play the piano, having taken lessons in the past. They would like to start her back on piano again. 

Brandon is quite the artist.  He loves to draw.  Right now they are pencil sketches, but he has potential.  I asked him about art class and he said he doesn’t like painting or sculpture, just drawing.  We gave him a paper airplane kit and he just loved that.  It came with an instruction book and patterned paper.  The instructions were difficult for me to understand but in no time there were airplanes everywhere.  We bought him a ream of copy paper to use for his drawing and airplanes as a parting gift. 

Another thing about Brandon, he is no longer shy and quiet.  Man can that kid talk.  As his dad says he doesn't need anyone else to converse with, he just goes and goes and goes.  I am sure glad he overcame his shyness.

Ally had her kids birthday party at a roller rink on Saturday.  It was nice to see here with all her friends.  I don’t remember roller rinks being that loud.  Ally wanted birthday brownies instead of cake.

She had a party with all three sets of grandparents that evening.  It was fun to be there to see here open her presents.  She requested Edwards Cookies and Cream Pie for dessert.  Good choice.

It was a busy week but a great time. Our last night there we went to Anna Maria”s and we all came back to the RV to say good byes.  The kids got a chance to say goodbye to Quark and Harley, too.

A Little Rain for Dessert

We called Amy shortly after we arrived on Wednesday and made arrangements for the family to come for supper. Ally and Brandon have early release on Wednesdays so they were able to make it over a little earlier.  Dave is some kind of regional manager for Hyundai and often works from home.  So we all had supper in our RV—four adults, two children, one infant and two mooches.  Tom grilled burgers on the grill and we had chips to go with it and pudding cups for dessert.  Ally and Brandon just raved over the burgers and Ally even had two.

We were all finished eating when the clouds began to build.  This is not uncommon for Florida and most of the time it is just a downpour and it’s done.  So we were sitting inside in the AC, as it was too hot to be outside. The rain began as a shower and then in sheets then the wind came up. 

We had just been talking how we had to sleep in our RV before we closed on our current house.  All our belongings were packed into the moving van and was at their storage facility as we had to get everything out the night before closing.  So no bed inside. So we slept in the RV.  That night we had one heck of a storm.  The RV swayed with the wind gusts.  Tom said he even thought he felt it lift up a little.

Well back at the campground the rain continued and the wind is blowing.  What I didn’t tell you is that we had our patio awning out.  No tie downs either.  So I said to Tom, “We’d better get out there and get the awning in.”  Tom poo pooed the idea.  And the wind was rocking the RV and lifting the awning.  “Now do you want to go out?”  He assented and out into the maelstrom we went.  In a matter of seconds we were drenched to the skin.  Neither one of us could see, our glasses were soaked and the water was pouring into our eyes.  Somehow we managed to get it rolled up and secured.

We came in dripping.  We both grabbed our beach towels and Tom headed for the back and closed the curtain.  There I stood, under the
AC in a puddle while Tom changed.  Hurry up! 

Finally I got my turn to get the wet duds off and into dry ones.

That will be something the kids can tell their friends at school. 

The next day we put the tie-downs on the awning.

Are We There Yet? Yes!

We finally made it.  No engine trouble. Whew! 

We are staying at a nice place, the Encore Manatee RV Resort. Last time we visited the kids we stayed at Manatee State Park and it was jungle from awning to awning, there was no pool and the so-called beach had a sign—”"Beware of Alligators.”

This time we were just a few minutes from the kids and we were not in a jungle. As the crow flies we were about 3 miles from the kids house. Actual driving miles about 5. So it wasn’t bad.

The sites surround a 17-acre lake complete with resident alligator.  Only a small 4-6 ft. one.  Only saw him once and that was enough.  You have to figure if  there is a permanent body of water here in Florida, there will be at least one alligator in it.

We did find that there were other particularly nasty residents in the park. Ants. Not benign ants but nasty, out-for-blood ants. Their first victim was Quark but by the end of our stay we all had been bitten. Mine are still itching after three days .

This complex is mainly a snowbird community.  In the summer months there’s plenty of room for folks like us.  There are many permanent sites that have park model trailers with additions, porches and landscaping.  Some of the residents are year-round, but most come for the winter.  The basic sites have an asphalt pad plus a concrete patio. 

We made use of the pool as much as we could.