Saving Money on Campgrounds: Two Months on the Road

We have spent less money on campgrounds in the last 59 days than we had planned.
We budgeted $25/night (x 59 days = $1475). At this point we have spent $438 and saved $1037.

• $80 (Fort Monroe, VA) - 4 days
  
• $100 (Lake Fairfax, VA) - 10 days
  
• $200 (Benbrook Lake, TX)- 10 days
  
• $58 (Oklahoma City, OK) - 2 days

We have dry camped (no hookups) a lot more than we thought we would. We spent:

• 1 night out side our former home moving into the Roadrunner (Fairfax, VA)
• 9 nights our Pam's sister/brother-in-law's place in Maynardville, TN
  
• 2 nights in a WallMart parking lot (Forrest City, AR & Livingston, IL)
  
• 19 nights at a 4H campground with fees were paid by the agency where we did NOMADS volunteering (Pontiac, IL)
  
• 2 nights in the driveway at our son's place here in Croswell, MI.

We knew we would do some dry camping and it is easier than we anticipated. Especially if you can use facilities where you are staying. We learned that dumping the tanks are a fact of life. It is what it is--taking care of business. Kind of like picking up after you take the pet for a walk only not exactly. It is obviously more convenient to have full hook ups, but if we don't have electricity and water or sewer, we are fine for a few days.

At our last campground our neighbor let us borrow his Blue Boy tote tank. We bought a ball hitch and used the Blue Boy and emptied the tanks twice. It was far more convenient than packing up, raising the jacks and driving the RV over to the dump station a few hundred yards away.

On the other hand, the Blue Boy costs $200 and we had to find a place to store it in the basement. Since we keep 'thinning out' our basement with empty bins and putting our chairs in our Honda when we travel, we have plenty of room. So we got one. At this rate, the Blue Boy will pay for itself in a few weeks.

On a different subject -- looks like we will be here for a few days in Eastern Michigan near Port Huron. We are looking forward to seeing some old friends and family. Last night we had a very nice time seeing Meghan and meeting her family. Nice folks.

More on that in another edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks for checking in. Hope your summer is going well.

Wrapping It Up

Today was the final work day of NOMADS Project #9 - Pontiac, IL. We began the day with devotions as we have done every day, followed by song and prayer. Today was a special day with Communion as well.

Then we hit the remaining projects in the Evenglow Inn. We had to do touch up work on some door frames. We also had to paint a resident's room and finish up a few baseboards. In the afternoon we painted cabinets, cleaned up the paint and brushes (Pam with George our leader here) and called it a day.
Our normal schedule calls for us to eat lunch in the cafeteria. (We actually go through the line and get an excellent array of menu items including ice cream for dessert.) Today we were told to report a little early and the CEO and senior staff (shown below) had some nice words for us in the dining room along with a gift and card. It was very nice.
One thing about volunteering for NOMADS -- the staff and residents have gone out of their way to say thank you and let us know we are appreciated. It is very nice. When we were working for a living it was not always that way. Why is that?

We have learned a bunch in a short time here. It has been a great experience and it was all we had hoped for and more. The fellowship, friendships, sense of purpose and calling we experienced here, have made it a very memorable time. We feel like we have a lot to learn and are well-suited for this type of work and look forward to the next one.

It is hard to say goodbye and to soften the effects, we met at the local Dairy Queen for one last gathering. Already we are planning to see George and Rubye next year at Evenglow. We also hope to join Joe and Fran at Galveston, TX next spring. Some had to leave last week and we really missed them. But we hope to see Judy in Tuscon in the winter and I'm sure we'll run into John and Kitty down the road too.

So that all for now and this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Tomorrow bright and early its off to Port Huron MI to see Adam and Meghan. Thanks for checking in.

Last Days at Evenglow & Upcoming Schedule

Like most, the NOMAD team found Monday morning arriving too soon! We enjoy the work and are looking forward to some time off. Evenglow Lodge is associated with Evenglow Inn/Evenglow Village. We headed out there on Monday morning for some more painting.
After we finish our NOMADS project Thursday we will be heading north to see Adam in Port Huron, MI. He may travel with us for a few days to check out the coach. We will also get a chance to see Meghan and her parents in nearby Petrolia, Canada. Then we anticipate the following schedule:

July:

• Detroit area, to see Rod & Lisa Hamilton and Jon & Barbara Brown
  
• Hartlan MI, to see Aunt Carol
  
• Makinaw Island, MI

August:

• Talon Lake, Canada to see Jeff & Tiffany
• Saute Sainte Marie, MI
• Sioux Falls, SD to see Steve & Theressa
• Omaha, NE to see Mark & Alisanne

September:

• Greenburg, KS to work on a Volunteers in Mission project with Kirk & Susan
• Albquerque to see Reid & Amy
• Santa Fe to work on a Habitat for Humanity project

October:

• Kerrville TX for the RV-Dreams Rally
• Austin to see Terry & Joanne

November:

• Livingston TX for the Escapees Boot Camp
• San Antonio, TX

December:

• Red Bay, AL for warranty work on the Roadrunner
  
• Tuscon, AZ to see Marty & Elena

We will be packing up on Thursday evening for an early Friday morning departure and more Chronicles from the Roadrunner. Thanks for stopping by.

Rt 66 Museum & Walldogs

Pontiac IL is becoming one of my favorite towns. It has such great community support and a lot of interesting things going on. Saturday we decided to go see the Rt 66 Museum and walk around town.The Rt 66 Museum and adjacent Livingston County World War II Museum are housed in the old Fire Department Building. Both have a lot of good artifacts and nostalgia. The Rt 66 designation was assigned in 1926 for the highway running from Chicago to Los Angeles and it went through Pontiac.Next door was the equally impressive Livingston County World War II Museum. Most items are either given or on loan from residents from nearby towns and counties in Central Illinois.
We have seen a lot of museums over the years but these two stand out because of the personal touch and the large amount of artifacts. Note the people in the right hand corner of the collage: Marilyn Pritchard and Bob Eckel. They are heavily involved in the museums and the major reason they have been such a success for Pontiac.

Another town attraction has been murals commemorating Rt 66 and the history of Pontiac. Recently, the Walldogs (a group of more than 100 sign painters) painted the outdoor works of art and murals.

The wall art has taken on the name of the artists: "Walldogs". I got a lot of them but not all are pictured here:It really adds to the charm and personality of the town. They did a good job with it.

We had fun learning more about the town and walking around seeing the sights. It also provided this dates entry for the Roadrunner Chronicles. Hope you enjoyed it too and will check in for the next edition.

NOMADS Week Two.

Gotta love a four day work week. Yesterday we finished up our second week volunteering at Evenglow Lodge with the NOMADS. The last couple of days we have been painting a hallway, a couple of vacant residents' rooms and repainting some public bathrooms.The NOMADS team is a great group. Not only are they hard workers, we all get along great and do things together. Each week we have had game night at George and Rubeye's.Here we are Wednesday evening enjoying root beer floats after playing pinnacle and Scattergories. This is new to Pam and I since we haven't played many table games over the years. If was fun.

Each week we have picked a night to go out to dinner. Last night we went 10 miles up the road to Odell, IL and had dinner at tavern near old Rt 66: Rentz' Tap and Dining. Food & atmosphere was great.
After dinner we went to the local playhouse and saw the youth version of Guys & Dolls. It was a great effort. Lots of lines for those kids to memorize. They did a good job and packed the place out. The local paper- The Daily Leader had some nice things to say.
Our NOMADS team is changing. John and Kitty left after work on Wednesday night. They are headed home to Elgin, IL before flying out to California for a while. They are planning to be at the September NOMADS reunion in Indiana.
This morning Judy is leaving for Cincinnati. She divides here time between there and Tucson, AZ.
They are neat people.

It was sure great meeting you all and safe travels hope to see you again soon.

That about does it for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. I hope you'll check in again for the next edition.

More Independence Day Weekend

It rained all day Saturday but we found plenty to do. In the morning we went to Walmart for a few things and I got a new dog leash for Ed. He likes it better and so do I. It is the retractable kind.

Next we went down to the local laundromat. Pam did the wash while I stayed outside with Ed. Then we picked up a Red Box movie and some corn at the grocery store next door. Basically it was a very lazy afternoon in the Roadrunner while it rained.

Later I got going and gave myself a haircut.
In the evening, we joined up with John & Kitty and Judy and went to the Pontiac Baptist Church for a free concert. Karen Peck, her sister Susan and Devin McGlamery make up 'Karen Peck & New River' (KPNR).
I got to meet Karen's husband (Rickey) and we had a couple of celebrity photo shots with the rest of the group. KPNR travels 200 days a year in the MCI bus show below.
Sunday, all the NOMADS went to the 8:15 Pontiac United Methodist Church service. Afterwards we moved on to brunch at the Pontiac Family Kitchen Restaurant.
In the afternoon, back at the Livingston County 4H Campground we had honey bucket duties. Joe showed me the finer points of draining the black and gray tanks into a 'blue boy' tote tank. After he emptied his RV tanks, he helped me empty the Roadrunner tanks.
Next it was another lazy afternoon watching LPGA golf. Since Saturday's fireworks were rained out, the NOMADS team and some other campers gathered Sunday night at the edge campground and watched the Pontiac Elks Club shoot off fireworks.
It was a nice way to end another Roadrunner weekend before we headed back to our NOMAD project on Monday morning. Thanks for checking in.

Roadrunner Financials - June 2009

It took me a while to get things set up and 'fill in the blanks' for our spending the last couple of months. I never used to track spending on a daily basis. But I think it can be a powerful tool.

So here it is: June's numbers for our first full month as Full-timers.

I was pretty happy with it all coming in $74.28 under budget.
We drove quite a lot and were still under budget on the diesel fuel. from Fairfax VA we made stops in Maynardville TN, Fort Worth (Benbrook Lake) TX, Oklahoma City and Pontiac IL.

The biggest areas we need to work on is in the food budget: e.g. eating out. That will gobble up the budget in a hurry.
Laundry worked out well because we were able to use Joan's and Sue's washers and dryers.

VISA charges were primarily for cash advances and ATM fees. As full-timers we now charge everything we can on our American Express and / or VISA card so we can track things better. Before F/T status we would charge household items and gas primarily.

Misc charges were way over budget. I had to buy another camera because my Canon locked up. This time I went with a low end Fuji with 10.0 megapixels from Best Buy. I added an extended warranty in case this one has a problem down the line.

It took me a while to get the spreadsheet set up but I think it has potential. We are interested in living below budget and putting some $$ away for a trip down the road (Hawaii?). I will be tweaking this some more I am sure. I also will be adding a few more notes to my entries so I can remember better what these dollars went toward.

That's it for today's edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Happy Civic Holiday Canada!

Abe Lincoln Home - Springfield IL

We left for Springfield IL about 8:00 Friday morning. Our fellow NOMAD Judy joined us. We arrived about 10:00 and went to the Lincoln Visitor Center in downtown Springfield. We took a tour of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site where Abe Lincoln and Mary Todd lived in for 30 years.

From there we saw other homes that had been reconditioned and then saw various craftsmen: a blacksmith, leather worker, carvers, fiber artist (weaver, knitting, quilting, etc), broom maker, cooper (made barrels, butter churns and the like) and a gardener growing the same food they grew in the 1860s.
Next we went back to the visitor center and viewed the movie on his life and involvement in politics. Then we had lunch (sandwiches we packed) on a bench and drove over to the Lincoln Museum and Presidential Library. (A guide explained the Presidential Library was more of the Illinois Archives for research and we ended up not going to that building).

There was a restriction on many of the displays but they had: a rendition of Abe's log cabin; a display of Ford's Theater and the viewing box where Lincoln was assassinated; a timeline of the Civil War and the casualties on both sides week by week (700,000+ for the North, 600,000+ for the South); one of Abe's often worn top hats; a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation; and a whole lot more. A local high school singing group provided some music.After the Library, we found the Oak Ridge Cemetery where Lincoln is entombed. Three of his sons are also there--the fourth (Robert) was in the Army and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. I think the humble man Abe Lincoln would be mortified to see the audacious nature of the cemetery and memorial. It just struck me as a shrine that he would have not wanted.
We got back to the campground in time for a quick dinner before we headed downtown Pontiac for the Independence Day 4th of July Concert. Folks brought their lawn chairs and gathered around the south side of the Courthouse steps. There were about 400 their to hear the Pontiac Municipal Band play an assortment of patriotic songs. It was great.A highlight for me was right at the beginning when the local chapters of the American Legion and Veteran's of Foreign Wars posted the colors. The 10 men in the honor guard all had to be over 75 years old. It was touching -- because of these and others, freedom rings!
I was at attention and forgot to get a picture.

After an hour of wonderful music and singing we hit the local Dairy Queen. It was a memorable Independence Day 4th of July celebration and for the Roadrunner Chronicler.

Another Day at Evenglow

We were told that the name Evenglow comes from the thought: 'In the even of their lives we want to provide a quality of life to residents that enables to glow'. So named is Evenglow Lodge where nine of us NOMADS are working. Our first work week ended yesterday.

Here's how the day went: I got up early (5:00 ish) and finished up a blog entry, then checked emails. Pam got up about 6:30 and fixed some oatmeal for us. Then I walked Ed. (Ed has adapted well to this lifestyle and seems to enjoy it.) We left the campground about 7:40 and were at Evenglow Lodge by 7:50.

We meet each day in the basement for devotions, singing and prayer. Joe led yesterday and four of us are taking turns. He brought some good thoughts out of Psalm 133 and 134 and talked about 'choices'--we can chose to view things and handle situations in a better way.

We moved from there to the task of the day: painting the boiler room in the basement. It was a big job. We had to be flexible and creative to get the ladders up and around/under pipes. At 10:00 we took our break and had some donuts and coffee. We have such a great crew we finished the whole thing before lunch time.

We get our trays and go through the cafeteria line on the second floor after the residents eat. Yesterday the menu included roast beef or turkey Reuben sandwiches. The food here is excellent. In fact the whole operation here is impressive.

After lunch Marilyn, the head of marketing, gave us the history of Evenglow. The thought started in 1957 and it was built in 1963. We got a tour of the whole facility.
They have four areas: condos on the 7th (top floor); the Lodge which is floors 2-6; the Healthcare Center for those needing more care; and the Inn- which is a separate building and first class Alzheimer's facility on the edge of town.They have 9 condos, 62 residents in the Lodge, 73 in the Health Care facility and 26 residents in the Inn. It was a very interesting tour and very informative. They really believe in making things good for the residents and it shows. They have about 160 staff.

The tour took us through the afternoon break time so we skipped it and finished up painting stairs and doors near the boilerroom.

About 4:00 we headed back to the Pontiac 4-H Park campground, took showers and met everyone for dinner at 'La Mex'. It was our first time for a dinner out since we have been here. It was very good food and a nice hometown restaurant. After dinner, we came back to the campground, pulled up some chairs outside of Joe and Frances' RV and talked until it got dark.
We have a very good group that is interesting and fun. They share their experiences and answer our questions. Everybody pulls their weight on the job, does their fair share of work and we get along great. They say most NOMADS projects are like this. If so, this is going to be great.

And so ends our first week of work on a NOMADS project.

We are looking forward to 3 days off and enjoying the 4th of July celebration here in Pontiac. This morning Pam and I and Judy are driving to Springfield which is 2 hours away. We are going to see the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and the cemetery. Tonight we are going to a concert downtown on the courthouse steps.

Should be a fun day with plenty to write about in the next edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Until then, take care and happy 4th of July!

We're NOMADS

We arrived at the 4H campground in Pontiac Illinois a little after noon on Sunday. It was an easy 150 mile day in the Roadrunner. We are impressed with this stretch of Illinois highway. They were very well maintained and a good piece of interstate along I-44 and I-55.

We were immediately met by the campground host and two NOMADS
couples who preceded us to the campground. All were very friendly and most helpful. Our first challenge was finding a good location within our campground spot so the Direct TV could get a clear shot at the satellite. It was not to be.
The large tree near our campsite blocked the line of sight. But our NOMADS neighbors had an extra dish and tripod and we re - rigged it up for that. It took about 25 yards of cable but we got lock on and were ready to do within the hour. It was a great way to start our adventure.

Sunday night we were invited out to the home of George and Rubye Russell who are the team leaders. We got to know each other a little bit and found out about NOMADS and the project in the town of Pontiac, IL. Neat town of 11,500.We got up on Monday and arrived at our project by 8:00. The retirement center is known as, "Evenglow a United Methodist Continuing Life Community".
Our team is made up of 4 couples and a single. We began with a devotional, sang two songs, had prayer time, then went off to our first day work assignments:John and Kitty worked on refurbishing restrooms; Pam and I stained doors; George and Rubeye and Judy painted door frames; while Fran and Joe painted elevators.
After devotions, we start working about 8:30, have breaks at 10:00 and 2:30, lunch at 12:15 and finish up around 4:00. Doesn't seem like the pace is too strenuous, but we were tired after the work day ended.

So ends our first day as NOMADS and another edition of Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks for checking in.