AMAZON

What can I say ... the past two weeks have been something else! We are in the "picking" department on the night shift.  What that means is, we run (almost literally) around this huge plant with a hand scanner. The scanner tells us which section, isle, row, and bin where the desired product is located. We have to scan the bin barcode, our tote (think solid laundry basket) barcode and then the product barcode.  This tells the computer that the product has moved out of the bin into the tote. We then put the tote on the conveyor belt where it takes a trip to the pack/ship department. To picture the plant, think of the biggest library you can imagine, with the shelves divided into individual spaces. Row after row after row ..... on the average night, a picker will walk between 10-20 miles picking product from the shelves to be shipped to the customers.

Not hard you say, and you are absolutely correct. One could easily teach an average 10 year old to perform this job. The hard part however, is the fact that one is walking for 10 hours on concrete floors. EVERYONE gets unbelievably tired and sore. However, my feet have really taken a beating. I have come home practically in tears, almost unable to get in the door. My feet hurt so badly after 10 hours on those floors that it makes me sick to my stomach. We are trying to find a solution. By the way, before you tell me to get better shoes, I am on my fourth pair! I am not wearing cheap shoes. We probably spent my first paycheck on shoes and insoles! I have to find a way to get through this. I keep telling myself that we only have 6 more weeks, but then I think "SIX MORE WEEKS??"

Hopefully next time I blog it will be more positive.

Oh, one more thing. After our first week of training, we took a couple of days and went sightseeing ... surprise, surprise, right? We went to Bowling Green and then to Louisville. What is in Bowling Green you might ask? The Corvette Museum! It was quite interesting to read the history of the Corvette, but of course the best part was seeing the exhibits. I have come to realize that for the most part, I really like the older cars better than the newer ones. I loved the 1950s models of the Corvette, just like my favorite Ford is the '56 Thunderbird. Of course I still miss my Mini Cooper but that is a different story! Our trip to Louisville was really just to see Louisville, but we managed to solve a question that has been on our minds for a couple of months. Illinois is "The Land of Lincoln", Indiana boasts it has the boyhood home of Lincoln, and then we get to Kentucky and they claim Lincoln too! We were confused, but we just happened upon his birthplace, and a woman there was able to straighten us out. Here goes: Lincoln was born in Sinking Springs, Kentucky and lived in Kentucky until he was about 7 1/2. The family moved to Indiana where they stayed until he was 21. Then the family moved to Illinois ... this is where he became involved in politics up to and through his presidency. All this to say that all three states can truthfully claim authentic rights to Abraham Lincoln. Gotta love it!

Our last two weeks of freedom before Amazon!

            Today, October 28^th, we are on our way from Heiskell, Tennessee to Campbellsville, Kentucky, where we will begin working for Amazon on Monday, November 1^st. We are both prepared for being extremely tired and sore for the first two or three weeks as we have heard from several people who have worked there in the past. It is our understanding that we will be in better shape when we finish working there on December 23^rd than we have been in years. No complaints about that from us!

            Over the past two weeks, we have had the privilege of visiting the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, Oak Ridge, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains. It has been an amazing and at times emotional time for me. Let’s start with the Creation Museum.

            We first went to the museum on October 18^th, just to tour the botanical gardens and see their petting zoo. The garden and grounds are breathtaking, with a variety of trees, flowers, shrubs and man-made waterfalls. However, I was taken with the animals of course, especially the wallabies. One little “guy” in particular was right up next to the fence, and absolutely loved having his neck scratched. He grabbed hold of my hand and almost wouldn’t let go! He nibbled on my fingers a bit, but nothing hard … he was very gentle. They also had a camel, some sheep and goats, a cow, some horses, and then of course a zorse and a zonkey, both with beautiful brown, striped coats!

            On Tuesday the 19^th, we went back for our official visit to the museum. In addition to the regular tickets, we bought tickets to their two planetarium shows. We both thought they were better than most we have been to. The museum itself was fascinating and well worth the visit. Their main point is that the Bible and science aren’t incompatible at all. It just depends on your starting point as to how you interpret the evidence. However, if you start with the presumption that the Bible is true, the evidence supports what the Bible says. If one begins with the supposition that the Bible is NOT true, then one is forced to come up with an alternate explanation for what one sees in the physical record. We were both very glad we made the museum a priority in our travels south.

            Wednesday the 19^th was an odd day. About a week prior, I had discovered that I had an infection in a tear duct, went to an optometrist and was given oral antibiotics as well as an antibiotic eye drop. Oral antibiotics have always been difficult for me as they upset my stomach something terrible if I don’t eat. Unfortunately, one isn’t supposed to take them with food as it affects the absorption, so I always try to walk a fine line, taking the pill just a bit before I eat to give it a little time in my system before I introduce food. Well this particular morning I waited a bit too long and ended up getting quite sick. I had to lie down for several hours, which meant we didn’t get out to visit Cincinnati until mid-afternoon. As this was our only opportunity to see the city, we opted to simply drive around the area until we found something interesting. We did just that and ended up walking across the “Purple People Bridge” into Newport, Kentucky! This bridge spans the beautiful Ohio River and afforded us a nice but not strenuous walk.

            We left Ohio on the 21^st and drove through Kentucky into Tennessee. This entire area is gorgeous with rolling hills and lots of trees. Of course the fact that it is the end of October didn’t hurt any, as we were treated to the most beautiful display of fall colors either of us has ever seen. As has been our practice since we left Indiana, I took my turn at the wheel and drove for about 65 miles or so. Approximately 10 minutes before I turned off the freeway to get fuel for our truck and lunch, I noticed the truck felt weird, as if we were being pushed. I looked outside at the trees to see if there was a lot of wind, and although it was windy to a point, it didn’t look like it was windy enough to cause the sensation I was feeling. I didn’t mention it to Wayne though because since he didn’t say anything and obviously wasn’t feeling anything odd, I thought perhaps it was just the road itself. Lo and behold, when I pulled into the Cracker Barrel parking lot, Wayne discovered we had a flat tire on our trailer! Obviously I had driven over something on the freeway, as there was a hole the size of a penny in the tire … you could even see the metal inside! No wonder it felt weird to me! Oh well, no harm, no foul! Wayne was able to change the tire after we ate lunch and on we went!

            Our destination was an Escapees RV park in Heiskell, Tennessee named Raccoon Valley RV Park. We love going to the Escapees parks, as not only are they very inexpensive, but we just feel at home with the people. For the most part, they are all full-time RVers like us, and everyone is generally very friendly.

            The overriding reason for spending the week in this area was to be able to visit Oak Ridge, Tennessee. My father, Robert Maxwell, served in the Army as well as a civilian during and after WWII in the secret city of Oak Ridge as part of the Manhattan Project. He worked at the K-25 plant where they were responsible for trying to enrich uranium through gaseous diffusion.  Beginning in 1942, the government took over this rural area, forcing some 3,000 residents to pack up and leave in the space of two weeks. They then brought in contractors and proceeded to build an entire city and 3 plants in 1½ years. At the height of production in 1945, the city housed 75,000 people. My father was one of those people.  (The K-25 plant was the largest building under one roof in the world at the time.)

Sometime around 1945, my mother’s family moved there as well, where my grandfather worked as a policeman. In God’s provident timing, my mother attended church and my father ushered her to her seat, and there began the romance that would blossom into a lifelong relationship. They were married on August 24, 1946 at the Chapel-on-the-Hill in Oak Ridge, TN. 

In addition, my oldest brother was born in Oak Ridge in February 1948.

While visiting Oak Ridge, we were able to view part of the K-25 plant while on an excursion train ride, we found the Chapel-on-the-Hill, and we were also able to find two of the three homes they lived in while in Oak Ridge. It was absolutely thrilling for me to be able to travel back in time, so to speak, and see this area that was the birthplace of my immediate family. As awful as the atomic bomb is/was, it was very interesting to hear the history surrounding its creation. Although I am sure all of us hope that the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan are the only ones that will ever be used, one cannot argue that their use at the time brought a swift conclusion to the war.

The final highlight of the past two weeks was our visit to the Great Smokey Mountains this past Tuesday, the 26^th. Words simply cannot describe the beauty of this area. All I can say is, God’s paintbrush on these mountains with the millions of trees turning red, yellow and orange along with the summertime green was a sight to behold. 

           Toward the middle of the afternoon, a severe storm moved into the area and we got absolutely soaked to the skin while trying to walk to the top of the highest peak (6,600+ feet). We quickly gave up as we realized the clouds had descended on the mountain and we were literally in the middle of the storm with little visibility and no chance for photographs. It was disappointing as the view on a clear day from there must be brilliant. That view will have to wait until our next visit. On the way back to our 5^th wheel trailer, we drove straight into a severe thunderstorm complete with thunder, lightening, and wind. The rain came down so hard, it was almost like driving through a waterfall. The windshield wipers couldn’t even come close to keeping up and Wayne could barely see to drive. He, along with the other drivers, slowed way down until the rain let up. We were under a tornado watch, but fortunately we escaped that part of the storm.

Well, that brings us up to date. Who knows when I will get to update next. I will try to write something about our experiences in Amazon sometime in November, but working 10-hour days on our feet will definitely take a toll on my energy level and willingness to think! I imagine it will be work, eat, sleep, and repeat for quite some time! Until then, God bless!

From Michigan to Indiana to Ohio

Last time I truly did an update on our current travels, it was a month ago. At the time, we were in Berrien Springs, Michigan. This post may end up being a book, as I try to catch up four weeks worth of life.

While we were in Michigan, we took a trip on September 16^th to visit the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids. We had a wonderful time looking through all the exhibits, although one would have to spend a couple of full days there in order to read and see everything available. We weren’t able to go to his presidential library, as the two buildings are separated by 140 miles. The library is located in Ann Arbor, about 2 ½ hours away! Maybe next time …

On Saturday, September 18^th, we drove back into Indiana to visit Sue’s cousin Steve Early in Chesterton one more time prior to leaving the area. That particular day the city held its annual Wizard of Oz festival. These people are serious fans of the “man behind the curtain”! The little girls dressed like Dorothy were absolutely adorable. Anyway, we put Lucy in her stroller so she wouldn’t get stepped on, watched the parade, and walked around the various booths that were available.

From Michigan, we ventured down into Indiana, where we stayed at the Elkhart County 4H Fairgrounds in Goshen from the 21^st through the 28^th. We have had a serious problem with the A/C and furnace in our trailer since we left California at the beginning of the year. The furnace would just come on at random times and then wouldn’t shut off, overheating our trailer and setting up a dangerous situation for Lucy when we had to leave her. We had tried to contact the manufacturer (Dometic) and had gotten absolutely nowhere with letters and e-mails.  Keystone, the manufacturer of our 5^th wheel, suggested we attend the Montana Owner’s Club (MOC) Rally in at the fairgrounds in Goshen, as their customer service division addresses problems with the trailers during that week. (Keystone’s factory is located in Goshen.) We have belonged to the MOC for a couple of years now, so registering for the rally was quick and easy. Sure enough, while we were at the Rally, we took our trailer to the Keystone Service Center, and they were able to fix a couple of problems with the trailer. They weren’t able to figure out what was going on with the HVAC, but they were able to pull some strings at Dometic and get a new controller and thermostat sent to us. I read the directions and Wayne wired up the new components, resulting in an A/C and furnace that actually work! Needless to say, we were/are thrilled. Not only that, but we made some awesome friends at the rally. Everyone was so nice and friendly, and went out of their way to include the newbies (first time rally attenders).

The highlight of the rally for me (Sue) was an opportunity to take a ladies driving course for pulling the 5^th wheel.  They made the husbands all stay at the rally, a few miles away from the Keystone Service Center. (This was to be a stress free driving course.) Wayne and I had been talking about the necessity for me to learn to pull the trailer in case of an emergency. (We made friends with a couple while in Illinois, Marge and Jack. Jack died unexpectedly in August, and Marge was stuck because she didn’t know how to drive the truck/trailer. It really made us think about that.) Anyway, all the ladies were given the chance to back a 5^th wheel around a corner, drive straight down a street and make right and left turns, and hitch the trailer to the truck. I found backing was much easier than I expected once I quit over-analyzing the situation. It was great!

Another benefit of attending the MOC Rally was that we learned about an independent suspension system that was available for our trailer. The manufacturer, Mor-Ryde, was giving 10% discounts to rally attendees if they ordered the installation while at the rally. Since this is now our home, we opted to purchase not only the new suspension, but a new disc brake system and a new pin box as well. It was expensive, but it should help our trailer to last for several years. The suspension will minimize the trauma to the trailer itself and the contents as we travel down the road, on top of providing a much smoother ride for us. The brakes will make our travels much more safe; the originally installed brakes didn’t exude any confidence that we would be able to stop in an emergency. We are both very positive about these upgrades we have made.

Since we made an appointment to get the Mor-Ryde systems installed on October 11^th, we had to stick around the area until then. We moved east about 20 miles or so to the Grand View Bend Campground in Howe, Indiana where we stayed from September 29^th through October 9^th.  The additional time in this Amish/Mennonite area of the country was amazing. We went to the Menno-Hof museum that gave a detailed history of the Hutterite / Amish / Mennonite people. Very interesting stuff. Since we spent a total of three weeks in northern Indiana, it sort of became normal to see the horses and buggies traveling down the rode, intermingling with the autos and trucks. It was quite a sight to see yard after yard with clothes hanging on a clothesline, gently drying in the breeze. The farms in the area are immaculate and beautiful, and seeing the farmers plow with horse drawn equipment was so different than what we are used to seeing. It is a totally different culture here. Where else would you find a horse and buggy barn complete with a hitching post at Walmart?

We went back to Elkhart after church on Sunday, October 10^th and parked behind the Mor-Ryde building where they had water and electric hookups for just that purpose. They began work on our 5^th wheel the next morning. That evening, we slept in our trailer in their garage! We had to be out the next morning before 7:00 a.m., as that is when they start work. They were able to finish the next afternoon, so we went back to the fairgrounds for one night before traveling out of the area.

On Wednesday, October 13^th, we left the area and headed east to Ohio. After we had been on the rode for about 30-40 miles or so we came to a rest stop, equipped with coffee and fast food. It was time to eat so we took a break and enjoyed a nice lunch. When we left, Wayne asked if I was ready to drive. I said “yes” and I drove from eastern Indiana, about 100 miles into Ohio! I wasn’t even nervous except once, when I had to go through a narrow toll booth, but I did that fine too. Wayne was pleased with how well I did, and I was really proud of myself. This was a big step for me … us really! Wayne prefers to drive, but they made a point to the husbands after the class that if they didn’t let the wives practice what they had learned, the class would be of no benefit. Wayne listened and that was that!

At the end of the day on the 13^th, we arrived at Cross Creek Camping Resort in Delaware, Ohio. Last night (the 14^th ) we went over to Ted and Jennifer Williams house for dinner in Dublin, Ohio. Ted was the Worship Pastor at Big Valley Grace Community Church in Modesto, where we attended since August 2005. Visiting this family is the entire reason we are in this area. It was very important to us to reconnect with them. We had such a nice time visiting with them and their two adorable children, Noah and Morgan. The dinner was awesome and the company was even better.

That reminds me … just before we left Illinois, we had the privilege of seeing another friend from Big Valley. Daniel Sumpter, the Associate Worship Pastor after Ted moved to Ohio, accepted a Worship Leader position at Harvest Bible Chapel in Elgin, Illinois. We were able to spend a couple of hours with him at Culvers (really yummy hamburger and custard restaurant) the day before we drove into Michigan. It was a special time for us, as we had become quite close to Daniel in the past couple of years.

Well, that brings you all up to date on what has been happening with us. We will be staying here through Sunday so that we can attend church with Ted and Jennifer. The plan is to then travel to the Cincinnati area for a few days to visit the Creation Museum. We are really looking forward to that. Until next time  …

Road trip to St. Louis, Missouri

Wow, time flies when you’re having fun! Oh well … I promised to write about St. Louis, so here goes.

During our time at the KOA, we had Tuesdays and Wednesdays off which just happened to coincide with our 37^th anniversary on September 1^st. We wanted to do more than sit around the campground for our special day, so we decided to take a trip to St. Louis, Missouri to see the famous Gateway Arch. We left on Tuesday, August 31^st, stopping along the way in Rantoul, Illinois. Wayne spent about 8 weeks there back in 1972 in the Air Force for his Tech School training in Fire Fighting. He was looking forward to seeing the museum there, as the base (along with many others) had been decommissioned years ago. Although we enjoyed the Air Museum, it only had one fire engine. True to its name, there were tons of aircraft … interesting, but not what he had hoped. Prior to leaving Rantoul, we had a yummy lunch at Ott’s Drive-In. I found this little gem of a diner on www.roadfood.com. 

We spent the night in a “dog-friendly” hotel … yeah, right! We found the motel on Orbitz, which somehow neglected to mention that there was an additional “pet fee” of $20 charged by the hotel, and they only put people with pets in smoking rooms! The fee I could handle, but the room – I think not! The guy at the desk made some lame excuse that “some non-smoking people have allergies to animals”. How stupid is that? Smokers have allergies as too! Anyway, I convinced him that Lucy is very small and doesn’t shed, so he gave up on that and gave us a non-smoking room. That evening we lucked out again and had an amazing dinner at a restaurant next to the hotel named Lotawata Creek Southern Grill in Fairview Heights, Illinois. They had a dessert called “Deep Fried Banana Pudding”. Oh my word, it was as big as a dinner plate! Between the two of us we maybe ate a third of it.

Next morning it was off to the Arch. Before we could visit the Arch however, little Miss Lucy had to go to doggie day care. We took her to “Groomingdales” in St. Louis. She just looked at us through the gate like “You have got to be kidding … you’re not leaving me here with all these strange dogs are you?”

 Once we left Lucy in good company, we went to the absolutely amazing Gateway Arch of St. Louis. Wow … that’s about all that can be said! It is much bigger than we thought. We bought our tickets to go up in the Arch and fortunately, we had a very short wait. We had been told we could wait hours, but it was only about 10 minutes.  They had one of the elevator cars in the waiting area so prospective riders could assess their willingness to ride to the top. Apparently some people with claustrophobia take one look and decide to forego the experience. Bad decision according to my claustrophobic husband. He wasn’t bothered one bit.

Once at the top, you are very aware you aren’t on a flat floor, but in the top of the arch. The view from 630’ up was amazing. We were able to see Busch Stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals play. Of course we could see a lot more than that, but baseball is where it’s at, right? Anyway, we had a wonderful time in the area. 

On the way home that afternoon, we stopped for lunch in Springfield, Illinois, just one mile from Abraham Lincoln's Presidential Library.  JUST ONE MILE! I wasn't frustrated or disappointed that we didn't have time to stop and see it ... oh, no, of course not. Ahem! If you believe that, you will believe anything.

If you want to see more pictures of our visit to St. Louis, check out the ones I posted on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2060551&id=1130964562&l=24742c212c.

Michigan!

It seems every time I start a new blog post, I begin with something like “so much has happened”. Well, this time is no exception. My last post on August 24th was titled “6 weeks, 5 days and counting”. Well now it is “0 weeks, 0 days” and it isn’t even October yet!

I do not wish to go into detail here, but suffice it to say September 6^th was a bad day. The owner of the KOA was working on little sleep and was in a “difficult” mood to put it nicely … we paid the price in the early evening and were fired! We packed up that evening and left the next morning.

It was a difficult summer for all the workers at this campground when it came to dealing with the owners. However, the friendships we forged won’t be forgotten, and we all had a great time with many of the campers. For us it has just been hard that we weren’t allowed to finish our commitment … even with all the issues, we had been determined to finish well. It wasn’t to be, but since it was out of our control, we have to assume the Lord has a reason for our early departure.

After leaving the KOA on Tuesday morning (September 7^th), we traveled the huge distance of 20 miles south to Sycamore, Illinois and spent the next week at the Sycamore RV Resort with friends.  This morning, (Tuesday, September 14^th) we traveled up into southwest Michigan, to the village of Berrien Springs. This is our first foray into Michigan and so far it is beautiful. We saw a little bit of Indiana too as we made our way east and then north. We will be back down to Indiana next week. I'll try to post a few pictures next time, when I write about our trip to St. Louis, Missouri for our anniversary September 1st. Until then ...

Six weeks, five days and counting!

We leave Union, Illinois on October 11th! With that statement, you may get the impression we are unhappy here in Illinois. Far from it, but as a fellow workamper said the other day, "We have 'hitch itch' now!" We are anxious to move on to our next job. When you are in this mobile lifestyle, the lure of the next adventure right around the corner is always in the back of your mind.

Since my last post on July 3rd, we have been to Chicago two more times, for a total of three visits. Last Wednesday, we went to a Chicago Cubs game. Unfortunately they lost, but it was SO cool to be at Wrigley Field. The fans here are serious, and it was a blast.

As I mentioned in July, we have been hired to work for Amazon beginning on October 17th. We have also accepted a job in Hattiesburg, Mississippi at Okatoma Resort and RV Park from January - March 2011. We will then, Lord willing, travel to Saco, Maine to begin working on April 15th at the Saco/Old Orchard Beach KOA Campground.  The hard part will be leaving all of our new friends here, not only at the campground, but at church as well. We have been blessed to be a part of Calvary Chapel Cardunal in Carpentersville for the past few months. They have been so warm and friendly, and we will miss them all.
Naturally, we still miss our family and friends in California. We hope to get back to the West Coast in 2012, and we are currently working on some basic plans accomplish that goal. This mommy/grandma can only go just so long without giving my kids and grandkids hugs and kisses!
I just remembered something I have wanted to share ... California fresh corn just doesn't measure up to Illinois fresh corn! They have a variety here called "Mini Mirai" (not sure about the spelling) that may as well be candy. Oh my word, it is so sweet and yummy! Wish I could send you some so you could taste it.

We had a major thunderstorm a couple of weeks ago. Check out this picture from the front door of our 5th Wheel.






One more picture ... this is "the Bean" in Chicago ... have a wonderful week.

Illinois Update

So much has happened since I posted last ... and then again, not so much! For the most part, our weeks go by in a typical pattern, just like they did back in California. It's just a different pattern - VERY different. Normally, we work 8-3 Monday and Thursday - Saturday, and 12-7 on Sunday, with Tuesday and Wednesday off. We have found a great Calvary Chapel where we are very comfortable worshipping in Carpentersville. We go to church on Sunday morning, to the Farmer's Market in Woodstock on Tuesday morning and to Bible study on Wednesday evening. We do laundry a couple of times a week, and basically relax when we aren't working. Like I said, sort of normal.

What is far from normal is the fact that we are in Illinois! Even after over two months, it just feels so weird being in Illinois and not California. We miss our family and friends! However, Illinois is beautiful ... green everywhere you look. The corn is probably about as tall as I am now, and we should soon be able to buy fresh corn at the Farmer's Market. Looking forward to that! Although Illinois is beautiful and green, by far the most striking aspect is not what we see, but what we DON'T see ... litter! Illinois is almost completely devoid of litter. Of course there is the occasional water bottle, and there are unsightly cigarette butts here and there, but that is the extent of the litter here ... and graffiti is almost non-existent! Apparently, the people in Illinois respect not only nature but their fellow human beings, far more than those in California. It is quite refreshing. Living in CA for the past 30+ years had produced an assumption that littering was rampant all over the country. Well, I am happy to say that is incorrect! Even Chicago is clean! Riding the train in from Crystal Lake, I paid particular attention to this. No litter behind industrial building, around the train tracks and stations ... virtually nothing! What a nice surprise.

Okay, off the pulpit and on to other subjects! As I mentioned, we took a trip into Chicago this past week. What a beautiful city. While there, we took an "Architectural Tour" by boat up the Chicago River and learned quite a lot of Chicago history. The most fascinating thing we learned was the fact that the Chicago River used to flow the opposite direction, INTO Lake Michigan rather than AWAY from Lake Michigan. The guide explained it quite thoroughly, but I can't do it justice. Look it up on the Internet for yourselves!

We are in Illinois!

Okay, it has now been over 2 ½ weeks since I updated last. It is getting harder and harder to keep up with this blog. I thought we would be less busy on our little adventure, but that has not turned out to be the case. Enough excuses, here goes!

After staying the weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, we spent April 12-19 in Des Moines, Iowa. Just like Nebraska, we found Iowa to be much different than we expected and absolutely beautiful. It was a great week spent getting to know Heidi’s husband & kids and Nathan’s wife, Pam. Dean & Heidi and Nathan & Pam were most hospitable. They gave Wayne a birthday party the day we got into town, and we were able to help celebrate Heidi’s youngest daughter, Chloe’s 2^nd birthday. While in Des Moines, we even went to Adventureland in Des Moines to scope out a future summer work camping job.

Chloe Morrell

We left Iowa on the 19^th and made our way to our final destination for this season … Union, Illinois. We have been at the Chicago NW KOA now for almost two week. It is a great campground … lots of grass and trees. We worked a total of 10 hours last week and 10 hours this week to pay for our site. We start working in earnest on Sunday.

We have found two churches in the area where we feel comfortable worshipping. One is a Calvary Chapel and the other is a non-denominational church. This gives us options depending on our work schedule. We won’t have a set schedule for another two or three weeks.

So far Wayne has had a much more interesting time working than I have. He has mowed “miles” of grass, leveled sand in a playground, etc. Most of the time, I have been standing/sitting in the office, waiting for something to happen. The day just drags on and on … it will be different when the season really gets rolling, but right now … BORING!

Chicago NW KOA

We did take a trip into Chicago already. I have ordered spices from The Spice House online, and one of their stores is in Chicago. Alton Brown (Food Network) filmed one of his shows in this particular store, so I have been dying to see it. Anyway, the coolest thing is we got to see Lake Michigan. If you didn’t know better, you would swear you were standing at the ocean! We also now understand more about the “lake effect” you hear about on TV, and also why Chicago is called “The Windy City.” The wind coming off of the lake was cold!

Lake Michigan

Our newest news we have is about our next job. We were contacted by Amazon last week, and have now been hired to work in their fulfillment center in Campbellsville, Kentucky. This assignment will begin on October 17^th, and will be finished on December 23^rd. This will be a serious job with four 10-hour days per week. However, it is only 10 weeks, so we should be able to survive that. This job will help replenish our checking account. These past four months have been expensive, traveling around with no income. Our job here in Illinois will cover most of our basic expenses, but it won’t be enough to save any money. Amazon will help with that.

Last night, (April 30) we survived our very first tornado warning. It didn’t really even get all that nasty where we are. There was some amazing lightening and obviously thunder, but if truth be told, we experienced a much worse thunderstorm in Sanger, Texas back at the beginning of February. Not that I am complaining … I am perfectly happy this storm turned out to be relatively mild.

Colorado and Nebraska

We have been SO busy these last two weeks I hardly know where to begin. I can’t believe it has been that long since I updated! Oh well, I made no promises when I started this blog, so I am not going to feel guilty. I imagine once we get settled into Illinois, I won’t have quite so much to say, since we will mostly be working at the KOA. As we explore, I will make sure to update and tell you all about it.

We spent a nice week in Colorado Springs seeing David and Judy. We were able to see them a couple of hours pretty much every day. However, the weather was windy and cold most of the time, much to my dear husband’s chagrin!

In my last post, I mentioned we wanted to go to Denver on Saturday, March 27^th to see a friend from Modesto (Patty Newcomb), but that didn’t happen because of the snow. It ended up cold and windy that day and way too slick on the roads to safely make the trip. We put it off for a week and went down to Denver from Fort Collins instead. (More on that later.) During our week however, we were able to get to Denver to see another friend from Modesto, Susan Brooks. She and I used to sing together on the Worship Team at Calvary Chapel in Modesto. We had a wonderful time visiting with her.

We left Colorado Springs on Friday, April 2^nd and drove to Fort Collins, CO … the city where I was born. The next day, we went back to Denver to visit my friend Patty and her family. Together we went to this crazy Mexican restaurant called Casa Bonita. Wayne and I had been there years and years ago when we were first married. It is hard to explain this restaurant, so if you get to Denver (Lakewood, actually) check it out. It is a lot of fun and the food isn’t bad either!

On Easter Sunday, we attended church with my cousin Gayla and her family, including her dad, my Uncle Gene. Had a great time … the church was just the type where Wayne and I feel comfortable. Great music, great sermon, … what more do we need? Anyway, after church we went to Gayla’s house for a nice Sunday dinner. Her Besides Gayla and her husband Rutilio, their daughters Rebecca and Monica were also there. In addition Gayla’s brothers Tim and Eric and our Aunt Erma, joined us and of course Uncle Gene. It was nice seeing so much of my family all at once.

Monday we just took care of some errands around our trailer, so all in all it was simply a “normal” day. However, on Tuesday we picked up Aunt Erma and headed for Red Feather Lakes to see more family … my cousin Mike and his wife Erika, my cousin, his brother Dan, and my aunt, their mother Shirley. Did that confuse you? Sorry, it makes sense to me! We also were able to see Mike and Erika’s daughters Kristen and Lisa. Kristen was on her way back to Denver so it was a short visit, but it was great to see her. We haven’t seen these girls since they were very young. We also met Erika’s mom, Emma, and Dan’s stepson, James. Erika fed us a great lunch and we spent a pleasant time visiting. It was great seeing Aunt Shirley doing so well after the physical difficulties she has faced in the last 3 ½ months. She is one tough lady! It was snowing most of the time we were in Red Feather Lakes and as it began snowing harder, we decided we needed to get back to Fort Collins before we got stuck. The last 4 miles before arriving at the ranch (Caerlaverock Ranch) is all dirt road (translation – muddy with the melting snow), and Wayne was understandably concerned about getting the truck stuck in either mud or snow. However, our trip back to Fort Collins was uneventful, as the snow stopped when we descended to a lower altitude. The views in the Rockies were amazing and I can really understand the draw of living there. To wake up at Red Feather Lakes and watch the sunrise must be quite a treat!

On Wednesday afternoon, we drove just north of Fort Collins to what used to be my Uncle Williard’s dairy farm. Now my cousin Larry works the farm raising corn and steers for market. We had a very nice visit with him for about an hour. It would have been nice to visit a bit longer, but he had a meeting in town to attend. Apparently the farms in the area are really hurting for water, so this meeting was very important.

Thursday we drove up to Cheyenne, Wyoming where I spent most of my childhood and teenage years. We drove by all my schools, my two houses, the church where we were married, etc. We even both got our hair cut at the Frontier Mall. It is a nice city to visit, but I don’t think I would want to live there again. Fort Collins is much more to my liking.

That evening, we went back to Gayla’s home for nice, cozy dinner with her and her dad. She made some rather adventurous dishes for dinner, one of which was a grits casserole. Wayne and I have just begun eating grits since becoming Texans … they are quite good. However this casserole … it was great! Very cheesy and smooth. Can’t have too much cheese … Yum!

We left Fort Collins yesterday morning after taking a walk around the lake at the KOA. We saw two Blue Herons flying around the lake … absolutely beautiful!

We drove into Nebraska and spent the night in North Platte. Tonight and tomorrow we are Gretna, Nebraska, southwest of Omaha. We have found Nebraska to be quite beautiful … much different than I expected. Lots of rolling hills, fields of straw, many varieties of cattle … interesting.

Monday, we will be in Des Moines, Iowa for a week visiting our niece, Heidi, and her family, and our nephew, Nathan, and his wife, Pam. Should be fun! Till then, I will sign off … have a great week, everyone!

First day in Colorado Springs

Well, Colorado Springs gave us quite the welcome today ... lots of snow! Fortunately our drive from Raton, NM was uneventful and sunny.

I think at one point it was in the high 50s somewhere along the road. It was a beautiful drive ... check out these pictures! The mountains in Colorado are just amazing!

Anyway, we got to our campsite somewhere just after 12:30 ... really a very short drive today of only about 150 miles. As we were setting up, the clouds just kept coming in and getting darker. By the time we left for my brother David's house at about 4:30 it had started to rain. His home is 20 miles from our campsite and as we drove along I-25 the rain changed to sleet and then eventually to snow ... a lot of snow.

While at David's house we waited for my sister-in-law Judy to get home from work and the whole time it just snowed harder and harder. After she got home, Mike, Judy's late sister Lucinda's husband, came over and we all left to have a great dinner at Cracker Barrel. By this time, the snow had lessened somewhat, which was encouraging.

After a great meal, we parted company and drove back to our campsite. At first it was snowing quite heavily again, but before we arrived home, the precipitation had completely stopped. We will see what happens overnight. We are hoping to go to Denver tomorrow, but it all depends on the weather. Actually the remainder of our trip to Illinois all depends on the weather. We have the whole thing planned out for sure, but at this point, flexibility is key. TTFN!

New Mexico

Boy, time flies when you are having fun. Since my last post, we spent three days enjoying the beautiful Las Cruces valley. We had a wonderful mexican meal at a restaurant called Andele in historic Mesilla nearby. Our site at the KOA overlooked the valley and Wayne was able to get some amazing photos.

We left Las Cruces on Friday the 19th and traveled just up the road to Alamogordo. While there we took in the New Mexico Space Museum, as well as White Sands National Monument. The museum was fascinating and White Sands was amazing. We took a hike up and down some of the sand dunes. Lucy loves sand of any sort and was ecstatic, racing around like a maniac. Wayne and I both agreed that it would be cool to camp there sometime if that is allowed. Apparently the sunrises and sunsets are incredible. I can only imagine.

This past Monday we continued up the road to Albuquerque and stayed there through Wednesday. We spent a bit more time piddling around, getting a few chores done, and generally relaxing. We did take in an RV show, where we focused on the hundreds of vendors that had come to pitch their products. We were able to purchase a couple of needed items, but managed to keep from spending too much.

Yesterday morning we were surprised to find it snowing on us ... certainly not a blizzard, but some real, honest-to-goodness snow that even was sticking on the ground, our truck, etc. Of course it melted a couple of hours later, but it was fun nonetheless.

Today is Thursday, March 25th and we drove on to Raton, NM, just about 10 miles south of the Colorado border. For much of the day, we traveled through miles and miles of fields and mountains covered with anywhere from a couple of inches to a few feet of snow. It was sunny today and the blue sky coupled with the snow made for a really nice day of traveling. For the most part we limit our travel days to 4-5 hours, so they aren't really long days and we aren't exhausted when we arrive at our destination. It makes for a much nicer evening!

Anyway, we have both found New Mexico to indeed be the "Land of Enchantment". It was so different than I had imagined ... much more beautiful than I thought. I will be sorry to leave it tomorrow.

Interesting side note about traveling in the late winter/early spring. We had reservations for tonight in a campground right on the New Mexico/Colorado border, about 10 miles north of Raton. I called this morning just to make sure all was well. It was a good thing I called! They had received so much snow yesterday that they could not get us in the park today. Fortunately there is a KOA in Raton that was happy to accommodate us. We met a nice couple here on their 2nd work kamping job who were more than willing to give us some info and hints about work kamping. We will take all the help we can get!

After that experience, we decided it would be a good idea to call ahead to the Colorado Springs campground where we had reservations for the next week. This particular campground is part of our Resorts of Distinction membership. We try to stay in these parks as much as possible since it costs us nothing and obviously is much easier on our budget. Anyway, when I called I got a recording that made it clear that although we were welcome to stay, there would be no water or electricity available until mid-April! You would think this would be something important to bring up when we asked for the reservation! Oh well, we cancelled that one as well and made a reservation at the Colorado Springs KOA. We have stayed there before and it is one of the best KOAs we have ever been to.

Okay, I think I am now up to date. We plan to be in Colorado Springs for a week and then on to Fort Collins, CO for another week. Lots of family and friends to see ... looking forward to it. Later y'all!

Biosphere 2

Biosphere 2 - Interesting information

A $30 million gift from the Philecology Foundation, founded by Edward P. Bass, funds Bisophere 2 operations and some research projects. Other grants and awards, primarily from the National Science Foundation, also support research activities.

In the 1800s, the Biosphere 2 property was part of the Samaniego's CDO Ranch. After several changes of ownership, it became a conference center in the 1960s and 1970s, first for Motorola, then for The University of Arizona. Space Biospheres Ventures, bankrolled by Bass, bought the property in 1984 and began construction of the current facility in 1986 to research and develop self-sustaining space-colonization technology. Two missions, between 1991 and 1994, sealed Biospherians inside the glass enclosure to measure survivability. Behind this highly public exercise was useful research that helped further ecological understanding. An insider’s perspective on this experiment is provided by Jane Poynter, a veteran of Mission I, in The Human Experiment: Two Years and Twenty Minutes Inside Bisophere 2.

Desert

Biosphere 2 facility

• 3.14 acre Biosphere facility
• 7,200,000 cubic feet of sealed glass, 6,500 windows
• 91 feet at highest point
• sealed from the earth below by a 500-ton welded stainless steel liner
• 40-acre campus
• 300,000 sq. ft. of administrative offices, classrooms, labs, conference center, housing

Ecosystems under glass

• Ocean with coral reef
• Mangrove wetlands
• Tropical rainforest
• Savannah grassland
• Fog desert

Tropical Rainforest

Apache Junction and Benson, AZ Mar 8-16, 2010

I have quite a bit to report since last time. First of all, the final game we went to see between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Oakland As completed our streak of rooting for the winning team. The As won 7 to 3. Woo-hoo! We had a great time seeing several of the teams get up to speed for opening day.

While in Apache Junction, we went to the Lost Dutchmen State Park (about 5 miles from the KOA) and took quite a hike. (See the pictures included.) It was only 2.4 miles, but the elevation gain was about 550 feet and the terrain was quite rough, especially on the way down. Although I have not experienced any muscle soreness since then, my knees haven’t quite forgiven me, specifically the knee I hurt when I fell back at Jon’s house a month ago. I am not sure what I did, but it is very unhappy, not when walking thankfully, but if I kneel down … oh my word … excruciating. Anyway, the view was amazing from the top of the trail. It’s a shame this park is one of nine that Arizona has slated to close within the next 6 months or so … all due to monetary woes.

We did not have to change our clocks on Sunday, as Arizona does not subscribe to the whole Daylight Saving Time most of the rest of the country follows.

We left Apache Junction yesterday, Monday the 15^th and drove to Benson, AZ just under 200 miles southeast. However, on the way there, we stopped near Oracle, AZ and spent about 3 hours visiting Biosphere 2. Look on the Internet if you don’t know what that is. Suffice it to say, it is well worth the time and money … absolutely fascinating. We were both glad we took the time to stop.

We spent one night in Benson, and then got up this morning and drove into New Mexico, stopping at Las Cruces KOA. We will stay here through Thursday and leave Friday to move just up the road to Boot Hill RV Resort in Alamogordo. You may remember we stayed here in early February on the way to Anaheim. However at that time it was just an overnight stop. This time we are staying three nights as we want to visit the White Sands National Monument close by.

One more thing, we DID have to change our clocks ahead 1 hour today when we entered New Mexico. They DO observe Daylight Saving Time so we are now an hour ahead of our friends and family back in Washington, Oregon and California.

‘Til next time, I bid you farewell. Trust the Lord. HE is the only trustworthy One.

Mesa and Apache Junction, AZ Mar 1-14, 2010

Well, I haven't updated in a while, mostly because we have sort of slowed down here in Arizona and I don't have much to report.

I said "sort of" slowed down because we have actually kept quite busy going to several spring training baseball games. It has been a lot of fun for the most part, but I doubt Lucy would say the same. Poor thing has been left in our trailer almost every day for 6 hours or so. Although all the games have been in the vicinity of the greater Phoenix area, some of them have been over an hour away from our home. That and trying to get there in time to find a spot in the parking lot has meant a lot of driving time, some of it spent creeping along in a line of cars with little to no traffic control. Needless to say Wayne understandably has not enjoyed those times very much. Yesterday was the worst as we were trying to get to Scottsdale Stadium to see the Giants play the White Sox. This stadium was built with minimum concern for the ability of the fans to find parking spaces. On top of that, it started pouring right as we parked so even though we paid $5 to have a gentleman peddle us to the park, we were drenched by the time we got there. The game ended up being delayed an hour, but finally started at 2:00. Fortunately, the Giants beat the White Sox 6 to 2. The cool thing is, none of the teams we have rooted for have lost ... nice!

1. SF Giants @ Seattle Mariners 8 to 7
2. Texas Rangers @ KC Royals 13 to 3
3. AZ Diamondbacks @ Chicago Cubs 7 to 8 (didn't really care who won this game)
4. LA Angels @ Oakland As 2 to 4
5. Chicago White Sox @ SF Giants 2 to 6

Tomorrow is the final game -- we are going to see the Milwaukee Brewers play the As. We were supposed to see them play the Cincinnati Reds last Sunday, but that game was rained out, so we are using our tickets tomorrow. Hopefully the As can win again.

We had a nice visit with my Aunt Sarah today in Sun City. We took her to lunch at Cracker Barrel and then went back to her home for a bit of a visit. She had some ice cream sandwiches in her freezer which made a great dessert. She wanted to buy lunch but we wouldn't let her. She thinks she won the "argument" because she "gave" me a roll of quarters ... wouldn't let me buy them from her. However, while she was out of the room getting them, I put a $10 bill underneath one of her figurines on a shelf in her living room. Hopefully by the time she finds it, she won't realize it was me that left it! :-)

Monday we will be leaving the area and staying one night in Benson, AZ, moving on to Las Cruces, NM for three days. I'll catch up to you then. Stay safe everyone!

February 22-28, 2010 Desert Hot Springs, CA

This week has been very slow and relaxing ... just what the doctor ordered! Last week was loads of fun with family at Disneyland, but it was also very tiring.

After we arrived in the Palm Springs area on Monday afternoon, our goal was to visit with old friends from Modesto, check out the area, and most importantly, simply relax.

We spent Tuesday doing household chores like laundry. I also made hotdog and hamburger buns from scratch. Yum! Wednesday we met up with Jim and Carolyn Doud (they moved here 6 years ago for their daughter, Diane). We visited with Jim and Carolyn over a nice dinner, went to the Wednesday evening services at their church, Calvary Chapel Palm Desert, and then enjoyed frozen yogurt with the Douds, their pastor, and another friend from Modesto, Lynn Marcus. (Lynn has been here for a few weeks caring for aging parents.)

Thursday evening we went downtown Palm Springs with the Douds to a very crowded street fair. We took Lucy but ended up holding her most of the time because of the crowds. Apparently it is unusual for the fair to be this crowded, but it was a a beautiful day and everyone decided to come out!

Friday we took a ride to Shields Date Gardens ... I wanted to try a Date Shake. I absolutely love dates and the shake was great. Super sweet -- so much so that I couldn't finish it, but it was good. After leaving there, we decided to take a "short" drive to see the Salton Sea. We had seen it on the map and thought it would make a nice little trip. It was definitely worth seeing, as there were thousands of birds to see as well as some gorgeous scenery. The entire area is under sea level -- at one point our GPS said we were at -256' elevation. Cool! Anyway, it ended up being a much longer drive than we anticipated. We had left home a couple hours after a small breakfast, had the ice cream at Shields, and ended up going to Applebees on the way home for dinner at about 7:00. Needless to say we were quite hungry.

Today I made bread and did our taxes. Wayne did a bit of cleaning up and reorganizing. All in all, a good week. Tomorrow we will attend church in the morning and prepare to head for Arizona on Monday morning. Bye for now!

February 15-21, 2010 Anaheim

Wow, so much has happened since I posted last. Monday, we drove from St. David, AZ to Anaheim, CA, arriving mid-afternoon. After getting the 5th wheel set up, Wayne drove me to a salon to get my hair trimmed ... I ended up getting a pretty short cut! It has been driving me nuts ever since I got my long hair cut off at the end of June and ended up with serious waves and curls in the back. I haven't had hair this short for years! Anyway, after the hair cut we met up with Jon, Cristen and Anne for a great chinese dinner.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we went to Disneyland with Jon & family and Wayne's youngest brother Ken, his wife Laurette, and their two wonderful little girls Lana and Lily, all from Washington. Although very tiring, we had a great time. It was so fun watching Lana and Lily experience Disneyland for the first time and see all the excitement through their 8 yr. old and 5 yr. old eyes! Ken and his family left late on Thursday for San Diego.

Friday, we took a day off to rest up and do laundry. Such a nice day ...we were all SO tired. We got back together with Jon & family on Saturday to go to the aquarium in Long Beach. Anne thought all the fish were amazing! She did a lot of pointing and squealing ... she was so fun to watch. My favorite part was in the Lorikeet Forest where I got to feed nectar to several Lorikeets. It was awesome to have them just fly right up and land on my arm. Of course it got real interesting when one decided he/she really liked my earrings! One of the birds practically took up residence right on top of Jon's head! He had one on each shoulder and one on his head for quite some time!

For dinner we met up with Jeff and Erin Bright and their two boys from Modesto, California. Jeff, Erin and Jon were very good friends in high school at First Baptist Church in Modesto and spent a couple of summers performing at Disneyland with the choir tour group from church. Jeff and Erin got to meet Jon's wife, Cristen and their daughter Anne, and of course Jon and Cristen got acquainted with their boys, Justen and Garrett (sorry if I spelled their names wrong).

Sunday (today) we went to church with Jon and Cristen and really enjoyed the service. We had a nice light lunch together, said our goodbyes (those are just killing me!) and headed back to the trailer. We took Lucy to a great dog park for the 2nd time (went on our Friday day of rest too), ran a few errands, and now we have settled in for a night of rest, prior to heading out in the morning