2010 - June 18 (Day 3) Got out and about Amana a bit today

Today was another stormy day. We went into Amana and explored a bit, then drove the loop thru all of the Amana Colonies. While we were in one of the shops a huge storm blew in, bringing high winds and a lot of rain with it. By the time we got back to the campground, about 1:30, the storm had passed and everyone was assessing the damage. Luckily, we had no damage, but a little bit of water blew in thru the stand pipe vent and made a little puddle under the sink right where the contacts for my water detector are. The alarm was sounding, so I mopped up the puddle with one swipe of a paper towel.

One of our friends' camper was blown open when they opened the door to the wind. They had several inches of water in the camper and were pouring water out of their flat screen TV and the toaster. They were heading for home when we passed them on our way into the campground after the storm. Wind gusts of 60 - 70mph were reported!

Another storm was forecast for early evening so I folded the camper down before going to dinner. I was glad I did, but I don't think the winds were as high as they were earlier in the day. I hope the rest of our trip is clear and sunny. I feel like we've seen enough bad weather to last us for about six weeks.

2010 - June 17 (Day 2) Stayed at the Aliner Rally today

Still HOT today. It's about 11:35PM now and, so far, it looks like we have dodged all of the bullets that the weather gods have shot at us. It got REAL black here mid-morning, then at the last minute the storm parted an the bulk of it went south of us. Aliners were rolling in all day long. Lots of displays and seminars tomorrow, so we should be busy. More later.

 

2010 - June 16 (Day 1) at the AOC North American Rally in Amana, IA

Here we are on the first day of our trip to Alaska. It was an uneventful drive from home to the rally. Joe and Loretta Aman, from Decatur, followed us on the 237 mile trip. The trip was uneventful except for the deer that ran across the road in front of me and Joe having to stop to plug the opening in the end of his bumper before he lost all his awning poles. I don't know what happened to his bumper cap. Left home about 10:00 and got here about 3:30. Nice park, but ZERO shade. The sites are a bit soggy from all the rain (just like home).

2010 - June 10 - 13 Aliner Owners Club Regional Rally, Double J Campground, Chatham, IL

We arrived on Thursday, along with ten or twelve other rigs. By Friday evening there were 29! Hot and humid weather prevailed until we got a heavy thunder storm on Saturday evening. Upon returning from dinner at the Golden Corral, we found that the entire campground was suffering from a low voltage situation, so everyone shut off the 110 volt power at their campsite, switched their fridge over to gas and continued to socialize. The power normalized in about an hour, so everything went back to normal. The campground owner was joking when she said there would be an extra charge for the resulting waterfront camp sites. I told her that we would pay the extra fee as soon as we received our refund for out-of-service WiFi for the first two days. That was the end of the "extra charge" talk.

2010 - May 25 - 28 Camping at Lone Point, Lake Shelbyville

We decided to do our Memorial Day camping from Tuesday thru Friday and get out of Dodge before the zoo started on the weekend. Turned out to be a great plan. Had a good time with Joe & Loretta Aman. It rained each day in the late afternoon for no more than an hour. Just enough to cool things off.

On Thursday evening, Chad showed up with the grandkids for a nice visit. Then on Friday morning, Marsha and I got up early and drove to Windsor to watch Adi's school talent show.

2010 - May 13 - 16 Camping at Carlyle Lake, Boulder Campground

It rained on and off all weekend. Fred & Vicki left Saturday because they were tired of looking at each other in the camper. In addition to Fred & Vicki Evans, Chuck & Carol McCullough, John & Jan Pfeil and Joe & Loretta Aman; Mac & Jan McGregor were there with their brand new Chalet. Mac told me Sunday morning that they only made one major mistake. They folded the camper down without closing a roof vent. Been there! Done that!

2010 - May 4 - 7 Camping at Fox Ridge State Park with Joe & Loretta

We couldn't have picked a better stretch of weather to go camping. The warm days (75 - 80) and cool nights (50 - 60) were perfect. The park, seven miles south of Charleston, IL and 6 miles north of Greenup, is huge but the campground is relatively small, 43 sites, and well kept. When we arrived at noon on Tuesday, there were only two or three camping units there so we had no problem getting two adjoining sites . The showers rooms and outlying pit toilet houses were very clean, a rarity in Illinois state parks in recent years. Ice was available at the campground host's site for a very reasonable $1.25.

Tim Yow, a Charleston businessman and old biker friend of mine stopped by to visit on two occasions, adding his usual conversational flair to the outing. On Thursday, we went to Greenup for lunch at Saathoff's restaurant where the food, especially the onion rings, was exceptional. It was recommended by a couple in the campground. They say the dinner menu is really good. You should try it next time you're in Greenup, IL.