It's About the (RV) Journey....: Heading East.................

We've been making our way East, heading to Virginia because...................

there is a very special event happening very soon! Jess (our daughter) and Andrew (our son-in-law) are expecting their little one early September, and since our house is on wheels and we can "live" anywhere, we will be living in Virginia for a couple of months.

We've been traveling across....North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana over the past few days and staying at a variety of campgrounds. They have all suited our needs, which are few. Some have been nicer than others, but we are just traveling through. All of the sites have been pull-thru's able to accommodate our car as well so we don't have to unhitch each day. Most of the campgrounds have been right off the interstate as well, and conveniently located near a gas station! Bonus!! We tank up in the morning as we head out onto the interstate and we are good to go for the rest of the travel day.

cornfields in North Dakota

this campground was behind a Days Inn...and was perfectly suitable for our overnight stay

we were able to keep the car hitched, which is great when you are just traveling through

once we are set up, we spend some time walking around the campground to stretch our legs and check things out

In the morning, we pretty much have it down to a science to pack up and go as efficiently as possible. Most of our loose items are stored already. Museum putty keeps our few decorations in place as we travel. Some extra items that can't be stored easily are put back on the bed so they don't go flying. Unhooking the water/elec/sewer and putting in the slides takes a mere few minutes when we both work together. We check our brake lights and signals on the car and RV, and then we are off to our next destination. (Of course, we use a checklist as well, so we don't forget anything...safety first)!

Just an aside, when we first began this journey, we didn't even put the slides out on traveling days because it took us so long to do everything. It was fun, sort of like living in a treehouse....but it is WAY more fun and convenient to have the space with the slides out. We've come a long way in a year plus!! (We also now have to use the bed for extra storage when traveling...much easier to travel light....I need to work on that)!

extra stuff stored on the bed so it doesn't go flying

plants in the sink-rugs up and stored on the dining room chairs-shades open

ready to put in the slides

museum putty keeps things in place (oh, and i see some dust!!!)

For those non-RVers that may be curious, when we travel and the slides are in, we can still reach the bathroom and the kitchen. There is a narrow aisle down the middle of the camper. The dining room chairs are buckled together so they don't slide all over the place when we are in motion. Sitting on the couch is an option...and it does have seatbelts....but I'm usually co-piloting so I'm not sure how the ride is back there. I do know its not a smart idea to be walking around in the RV while its in motion. Its a pretty bumpy ride, and you can get thrown all over the place. I've done it to check on things falling out of the cabinet, but I would never just go back there and make lunch, for example. When we stop at a rest stop, we can use the bathroom and usually I have lunch ready and we just sit on the couch and eat it. This may be too much information, but maybe it will help another RVer out there!

stopping for a quick bio break

ready to roll again

that's a lot of hay!!!

So, about the trip itself......On Saturday, in Minnesota, we stayed at a lovely campground, with a great laundromat. I was able to do a few loads of laundry, make a nice dinner and still have time to knit and read. Hhahahha. In fact, we were outside enjoying the perfect weather and reading, when my eye started to hurt....almost like a bruise. A few hours later, my eye was all red. Ugh! I didn't remember anything hitting my eye or getting anything in my eye, so I was googling all about eye pain, eye injury, etc. and reading all kinds of things it could be. I finally admitted I should see a doctor-after all, its my EYE! Of course, this happened on a Saturday night! The next morning, Tom asked in the camp office about the nearest Urgent Care type of facility, and as luck would have it...it was right next to the highway we needed. And would you believe-the hours were 8am-8pm on a SUNDAY! So, after packing up....we hit the road in the RV and drove to the Urgent Care, which was right next to the hospital so there was plenty of parking for us. The doc was great...examined my eye with flourescent dye and saw I had scratches on my eye....and thankfully the "foreign body" was no longer there. What a relief! I left with a prescription for antibiotic eye drops, and relief that I didn't have something more serious like glaucoma or something like that. (I know..I sound like a hypochondriac, but my eyes are precious! And I had actual eye PAIN...not just a scratchy feeling...and you know how webmd can be). More good luck....Walgreens was 2 blocks away! We were so pleased with the quality and ease of getting that medical attention! No need to sacrifice good health practices just because we are on the road.

cooking dinner! Really!!

Using a magnifier to see google maps a little more distinctly!

aahhh...chores done and time to read and relax

well deserved break for the driver!

On Sunday morning, with just a two hour delay at the doctor/pharmacy (not that it really mattered), we headed out to our next overnight destination near Madison, WI. Well, let's just say it was HOT HOT HOT! The campground was an old KOA, and the electric was not upgraded so....being that it was at full capacity with a lot of big rigs with a/c's.....our power kept going off and it was about 92 degrees in the camper. UGH! Eventually, it cooled off and we had a good night's sleep. It was so hot, I forgot to take pictures of the campsite.

gross, i know....hope the eyedrops work

lunch stop somewhere in Wisconsin

enjoying that steak sandwich?

Next, on Monday morning, it was on to Illinois, and Indiana, where we were staying at a lovely campground with a lake and lots of water activities for the kids. Our kids would have had a great time here, back in the day. Haha. We arrived early afternoon, which was good. We got to relax....especially Tom the driver...who drove in city traffic with road construction for about 5 hours today. Ugh! The campground was pretty big and we enjoyed a nice long walk after dinner to stretch our legs and move around. I probably would have gone in the lake, but the eye incident stopped me. Didn't want a blooming infection going on over the scratched surfaces.

the traffic and the road construction were amazing...all day!

another nice and peaceful campground (Tom deserves a good break after THAT drive)!

view from the campsite

our kids would have loved that lake and all the fun things in it (when they were kids!!)

peacefully floating along

Next its off to Kentucky, and then Virginia!

For my knitting/crafting friends: I've finished a few more things for the baby. I hope to have more storage room in the camper now...hahahha! (Actually, I have a few more things that I've bought along the way, but I don't want anyone to think I would spoil our grandchild)!