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.

2 days in Oklahoma City

We had 2 great days in Oklahoma City. We were there to see Kirk & Susan. Kirk and I went to Santa Fe High School together and hooked up again at our 20th reunion many years ago. Since then we have kept in touch. Last May we met them in NYC. This year we stopped by to see them.

We stayed at the Twin Fountains RV Park. Very nice place. Best RV campground we have been in so far. Each site had full hookups and nice laundry & restroom.We arrived a little after noon and went downtown to see the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. It was quite sobering. They have done a very good job of helping us all remember. Another reminder of the unimaginable tragedy man can concoct against man. It made we relive 9/11 all over again except this was there version of it.
Later that night we had dinner at their place and were able to chat with Mandy and Chase. Both their kids are out of school -- very similar to Adam and Kelly. It was great to hear what they are up to.

Kirk belongs to Quail Creek Country Club and Golf Course so we played 18. It was the first time in years that I carried my bag. It was almost 100 degrees by we hit every water jug/water fountain on the course and stayed hydrated. (I still lost 5 pounds.)

Talk about a nice course! It was in excellent shape! I just loved it. It may be my favorite course ever. The beautiful homes lining the fairways were not monstrosities like some expensive courses I have played. They were all different and very well manicured and looked like they were lived in by regular people.... It was just all very impressive.Kirk reminded me that it was the first time we have ever played golf together. I played golf in high school, he played tennis. He got a tennis scholarship in college. He and Chase had an off day, but we still had a nice time. I had an on day with a 78 which was the first time in ages I have broken 80.

Later we went to the Natural History Museum in Norman Oklahoma near Oklahoma University. We also hit McAlister's Deli for some good conversation and a tall glass of ice tea. Then we went to Pearls for dinner. Mandy works there and took good care of us.
Susan is very active in the Methodist Church Volunteers in Missions (VIM) program and is getting ready to take a team to Boliva. This is her 4th trip there over the years. She has been on a lot of those to other places also. Since she recently retired from teaching Spanish at the college level, she is a big asset on work prohject/trips to South America. Plus she is very organized and involved in spreading the word to other churches that want to get involved. We are planning to join them in a VIM work project in Kansas in Sept.

It was a great 2 days seeing those guys. Great friends over the years! Yesterday we hit the road early and drove 600 miles. Today we are driving another four hours to our NOMADs work site in Pontiac IL.

More then on it from the Roadrunner Chronicles. Drop us a note when you get a chance and have a great Sunday!

Last Days in Fort Worth

The Benbrook Lake US Army COE campground is great for biking so I decided to take a ride and shoot a few pictures. The temperature hovered around 100 degrees so it was important to stay hydrated.
I biked about 10 miles, saw some great areas of the lake, and got in some good exercise.

Later in the day, we had a visit from Mark and Dortha who stopped by to say hi. We found their blog earlier in the year and have been following them ever since. They know my brother and his wife since they have kids that went to Texas A&M. Small world!

They have been fulltimers for quite a while and are also Tiffin owners so we learned a lot from them. Mark sells The Solution, so I bought some from him and am anxious to try it out.
The great thing about meeting them is that they are just nice friendly people. We wish them well on their summer/fall trip to the Dakotas, Montana, Washington and elsewhere. We sure are glad they took time to say hi before they left on their trip! Blessings to them and we wish you safe travels.

Wednesday was fun because Brad and Andy and I got to play some golf. This time we played at Iron Horse and it was a very nice course. It was a little short which was easy on the scorecard. I was pleased with my 81 even with one in the water and a shank.
Later Pam/Kelly and I had dinner at Brad and Sue's house with Jo/Andy and Katherine/Dante. It was a great evening. Sue is such a great cook and they are gracious hosts.
The hardest part of the evening was saying good bye to Kelly. It is always hard saying good bye to your kids. Especially when you have ones like Adam and Kelly.
Kelly is staying in Fort Worth and going to find a job and live there or in the Dallas area. If any of you know of a position in the Interior Design field, please let me know.

It was a wonderful time in Fort Worth. That's it for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks for checking it out and we will catch you down the road...

Cricket Wars 2

Last night we returned to the Roadrunner and got ready for bed. The pesky cricket was back! I launched into my next plan of attack: Lemon scented Hot Shot. This is serious-- the previous night I was awake more than I care to recount...listening to a chirping cricket.

My first attempt to ignore it didn't work out very well. The second time I woke up listening to him I realized I had only been asleep about 20 minutes. I was hoping for a quick end to it...but it was not to be.

I even convinced myself he was outside and that he would just wonder off maybe. But he persisted so I dragged myself out of bed, but on some shoes, grabbed the broom and went out side. It was about 11ish and I wanted to put an end to him.

I did some damage to the high grass outside near the back of the coach and returned to bed. I finally fell asleep reluctantly listening to the Cricket Serenade. The air conditioning would not even drowned it out.

I awoke a couple more times and about 3:25 I was thinking...at least I am not hearing the danged crick.... man! there he is again. This is aggravating and I am exhausted. I nodded off and that was the end of the first night.

Last night I was in no mood for a repeat performance. I found the lemon scented Hot Shot and lifted the bed mattress and squirted every corner and crevice I could find. Things were good for a couple of hours. Yikes! This guy is wearing me out!!

Pam woke up and I changed sides of the bed with her since that was the latest direction of the aggravation. While she went to the bathroom I unloaded another arsenal of lemon scented poison. Take that! and that! and that!

The good news was that I slept the rest of the night and did not hear him when I got up. Could this be it? Time will tell. But it was a great way to start out Father's Day.

Hope you had a great day and hope you have a good week. We'll be in the Fort Worth area until Thursday and then will be heading to Oklahoma City for a couple of days.

Thanks for checking in on this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Two Days to Fort Worth

We left Maynardville a little before 8:00. It was a great visit with family. It was one of the longer stays we have had with relatives but worked out well.

Almost from the start we had issues with the jack. The Passenger Side (PS) rear jack would not retract all the way. We drove five miles down the road and pulled into the Union Count High School parking lot to take another look. It was out about an inch.

We left it that way and drove West on I-40 to near Harriman TN about 35 minutes away. We were going to meet Gary and Vicki. They are at Caney Creek RV resort. Many months ago I found their blog and have been following them. Access to the park is a little tough unless you are staying there so we unhooked at the nearby Kroger/Lowe's parking lot.While there, Kelly saw where the jack was getting hung up. I wedged it slightly and it retracted all the way. Problem solved (for now)!

Our visit with Gary and Vicki was great. Gary is one of the camphosts there and Linda is working done at the boat dock. While Linda was in a meeting, Gary showed us around this great facility. It had nice concrete pads, full hookups, outdoor swimming pool overlooking the lake, and a covered meeting area with huge fire place.Gary also showed me some of the neat additions he has made with his sewer hose storage, Jake Brake and Pressure Pro Tire Monitoring System. All look very well done and quite handy.After Vicki's meeting we went to a nearby place for lunch: Bob's Burger. Food was good and and prices were reasonable. We had a lot of questions and spent a while getting to know Gary and Vicki. Nice friendly people. Very generous to spend some time with us.

Next it was off to Forrest City, AR. We drove 400+ miles and spent our first night in a Walmart parking lot. We pulled off to the side and lined up the Roadrunner about 50 yards away from a Mandalay class A. By morning there was a mix of tractor trailers and RVs-- seven of us spending the night.

Yesterday we drove all day and got to our present location: US Army Corps of Engineers campground at Benbrook Lake. The area is quiet beautiful. The lake is full and the weather is hot. Over 100 degrees yesterday. This morning it is a balmy 79.

We tried two other sites before we ended up here. The PS rear jack did not want to extend to we moved to a flat site where we don't need them. Today's agenda includes contacting Tiffin to get advice on the jack, maybe taking it in for repair, doing 2-3 hours of telework and a tee time at 1:00 with my brother.

We will see how it goes.

Thanks for stopping by and reading another edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Until next time, be safe and be nice to someone today.

Daniel Boone Country

One of the neat things about being in this country is the National Parks. The Cumberland Gap Historic National Park is less than 35 miles from here so we spent a couple of hours there last week. We have found the National Parks always do a nice job with the Visitors Centers. They usually have a few displays and a short video or slide show to explain a little of the history and significance of the park.Daniel Boone is famous for being associated with the Cumberland Gap and 'opening up the West'. Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Jim Bowie, Kit Carson, Sam Houston--all those guys I remember as heroes of the frontier West.

Daniel Boone made his first passage through the area in 1769. A few years later in 1775 Boone and others made their way through the Wilderness Road and opened the Kentucky lands to setters.
Interesting...while this was going on, the Founding Fathers had things of their own to contend with.

In 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state. Tennessee joined the Union four years later.

The park has a lot of short hiking trails. We will have to check those out the next time we come to Maynardville. For now, we are getting ready to pack up and head west later this morning.

Until next time, be safe and thanks for checking out another edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Roadrunner Review - some ideas to share

We have been on the road for two weeks now. We are settling into our new lifestyle and learning lots. I wanted to share five items you may find useful or interesting.

Overnight bag:We packed for the trip to Virginia Beach to pick up the Allegro Bus and I saw a bag at Home Depot that looked like it would work well as an overnight bag. It has large straps and is a good size for carrying clothes, a shaving kit, some shoes and a towel. Instead of a $20 namebrand bag, I find the $1 version as useful and more vesatile. I use it daily to go to the campground showers.

Soap dish:
Our seller conveyed the shower soap dish. It has a suction grip which folds down and adheres to the shower wall. It is handy at the campground when their is no place to put the soap. I think you can get it for a few bucks at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Rain boots:
Kelly has seen us wash the car in the driveway many times over the years and thought we'd need to have these to wash the RV. We have yet to wash the RV but have been caught in two weeks of heavy rain showers. We use them all the time to walk back and forth through the wet grass from the showers to the Roadrunner. No more wets shoes. Nice.

ShamWoW chamois:
I wish we didn't need this but we have a mysterious leak in the Driver Side slide out near the window. Twice we have left the window open during the rain and have had to soak up the floor. Last night the window was closed but the water seeped in anyway. Yikes! We have to solve this one. Meanwhile, the ShamWow (from WallMart) soaks up the water better than towels.

Hub tool:
While we were at Lake Fairfax Park campground last week I met Frank who invented the Hub Tool. He said he has had three blown tires over the years and mechanics had mangled the hub cap on his Freightliner chassis each time. While repairing his trimmer, he saw a plastic wrench and got the idea to create one for his motorhome hub caps. I was fascinated with his story and told him I'd but it on my blog.

To Order: send check or money order for $1250 (includes shipping) to Frank Cason, 1917 Stone Dam Rd, Chuckey, TN 37641 or email him at cason.frank@gmail.com

That about wraps it up with another edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. (If you get the chance, I love to hear about neat tips or items that make your life easier on the road.) Thanks for stopping by and checking us out. Until next time be safe!

My Biggest Takeaway so Far - Blessings

I was talking (actually on a web video chat using ooVoo) with my brother Marty. He asked a great question: What has been your biggest take away so far?

We bought the Allegro Bus aka 'The Roadrunner' three weeks ago. Since then we seem to have peaked in the pace and amount of hectic activity. For the last couple of weeks we have been trying to get everything done we need to do without forgetting big items. Those of you that have recently moved know what I am talking about.

Having gone through that I look back and have a number of thoughts:

• I am very grateful that I have a wife who is willing to take risks. Not crazy jump off a cliff risks, but she is not risk adverse. She is as excited about this new adventure as I am. I am grateful she is technically oriented and mechanically inclined. I probably would not have attempted this if I were alone.
  
• I am grateful for the encouragement of our kids. Though they had to get used to the idea, it was not a hard sell to convince them we were going to go off into the great unknown in RV land and dive into a different life style.
• We were especially glad to get some encouragement from key friends. Some were not convinced this was too good of an idea and a few asked some hard questions. We appreciated all the reactions. Most of all we appreciated those who 'got it' and could see we were serious as we walked down the path of preparing to launch out. It was encouraging to see the excitement of others as the plan began to get executed.
  
• I am thankful to the new friends we have made in the RV community, particularly in the RV-Dreams family. Howard and Linda Payne have blessed us with a wealth of information and a structure to find out great information and answer a whole lot of questions. If you have not done so, I encourage you to check out their web site: www.rv-dreams.com
• A good plan is important. Visiting a lot of RV dealers was very useful. We went to 32 dealerships in 10 states. We picked a date on the calendar 18 months out and it all came together about like we had hoped, though not exactly in the way we were thinking at the time.
  
• A budget is powerful. I would guess finances are the single biggest question about this lifestyle. It certainly was for us. Once we put together a 'strawman' budget and massaged it a little bit -- the whole idea became more doable and a big risk was addressed.

So without getting too carried away on this post, I would say the biggest take away for me is gratefulness. This has been one of the most gratifying 'projects' I have been a part of. I am so grateful to be able to do this with Pam. So far this has not been all that hard (well, some of it has... but I'll cover that another time) because of the planning and because of God's blessing to us.

I am grateful.

That wraps up another entry into the Roadrunner Chronicles. Today I get to put in some more hours teleworking and will start that shortly. Until next time, take care and be safe.