Day 39 - Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

We left around 8 AM this morning. With dark cloudy skies. The rain storms that we had avoided all day yesterday finally caught up to us during the night. Weather Bug showed that the bulk of the rain was East of us.

DH wanted to get diesel in Ohio as it is cheaper than Pennsylvania. So I looked on Gas Buddy. I found a Marathon station at the Newton Falls exit that was $2.39 for diesel. So my phone steered us to it. It was even better as it was $2.35. While there I made DH and myself peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. I also bought a case of water and Amish teriyaki flavored jerky. I still prefer the softer variety by Jack Links or the thinly cut sheets from Tucson, Arizona. And even better, my recipe which I make myself.

Ran into drizzly rain and fog. It's beginning to clear. Or trying to.

In Bedford on the Pennsylvania Turnpike we stopped at a travel plaza. DH bought him and I Sabarro Pizza slices and I bought us Starbucks beverages. MIL bough a sandwich and beverage from Starbucks.

DH needed a restroom and the first available space to pull over had big signs that had a black capital letter P with a red circle with a slanted line which is the symbol for No. So essentially it said No P. Either way, DH was not obeying the signs. He parked the motorhome and used the restroom. All in a No P-ing Zone!

It is 5:33 PM and we are currently stuck in congestion on the Schuylkill Expressway which is an oxymoron. However Los Angeles traffic trumps this traffic for total volume.

Finally made it home and only unpacked essentials. The rest can wait until tomorrow. This is the last post for his trip. Check us out in February 2017 for our trip to the Florida Keys.

Day 38 - Timber Ridge Campground, Amhurst, Ohio

DH and I both got up at 6 AM. I was sleeping on the recliner and fighting with the pillows all night as they kept falling into the stairwell. I of course thought of using the stairs cover but figured the noise my wake up MIL.

DH had to tell MIL, Rise and Shine this morning. She made a disapproving face. DH threatened her with the camera and posting it on Facebook. It really is an idle threat as DH doesn't post anything on Facebook. However she did get up and dressed pretty fast.

Since we were in the Northern Chicago suburbs, we ended up going right through Chicago at rush hour. DH was tired midway through as he didn't sleep well last night. So I took over driving and MIL rode shotgun, as navigation is not her forte. All was going well until Indiana wanted me to navigate through a toll booth that had 6" between my mirrors and the toll booth sides. MIL asked me if I could retract the mirrors. I said, "NO!" Then I put it in neutral and put the parking brake on simultaneously yelling "GEORGE!!" "I NEED YOU!!!" So he came and changed spots with me and MIL changed spots with me too. Of course the next toll plaza had wider spaces between the toll booths. Some states have Express roads that read the EZPASS from above.

DH said to me he didn't recognize the road we were on from last year. I said that is because the Gremlin didn't take us on the Interstate. It took us off in some of the questionable places. That is before I realized it was a gremlin. Last year all I could think of was the song words..."in the South side of Chicago, in the baddest part of town"...excerpt from "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown." Words and Music by Jim Croce. But we finally found our way back up to the Interstate.

DH was convinced he could get the weather sealing gaskets for the motorhome in Elkhart, Indiana. But first we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. I had my favorite Pecan Pancakes. We went to the surplus RV parts dealer in Elkhart, but they didn't have the parts. DH said it was a waste of time. So I had found diesel at a Marathon station for $2.29 when all the other stations were either $2.45-2.65, so I navigated us there with the help of my trusty GPS Google Maps.

It was about 3:00 when DH asked what day is it? I said Wednesday. He suddenly moaned that he thought it was Thursday. The sudden realization that he could have hunted for replacement gaskets after all in Elkhart finally sunk in. However, we were now in Ohio.

A funny thing about Elkhart is the town has a cool graphic logo with a drawing of an elk framed in a heart. It is really nicely done and graphically pleasing to one's eye. The only problem is a hart is a deer, not a heart. I'm sure the founding Fathers of Elkhart thought they were clever in naming the town. After all Elkdeer doesn't sound as good as Elkhart.

We had intended to stay at a travel plaza on the Ohio Turnpike. We got nervous when the plazas East bound were razed. Just empty parking lots that were barricaded. DH picked out a campground 79 miles away along our route. I called the campground and found out that their office closed at 5 but they would meet us at the gate when we arrived. DH told me to tell them we would be there by 6. At first, looking at the crazy directions that the Gremlin showed, looked like I said, crazy. Google agreed somewhat. Google had the road number and the Gremlin used a street name. Neither name nor number was on the road. The directions proved correct.
When we arrived the gate magically opened. I went into the office and paid $40. When I came out of the office, there was a little charcoal gray alley rabbit, as my Grandfather referred to stray cats. I was worried that it would follow me back to the motorhome, but it was more interested in the dumpster. There were several other young cats too. They belonged to the campground, so they weren't strays.

I had a mental lapse or something. When we went to unhook the MDX. We had to unhook it because our site was a back in. I put the MDX in Park but then I couldn't get it in reverse. So I used the trick DH showed me to get the gear shifter to move to reverse when there was no power. Then the MDX lurched backwards but it was still looked up. DH wanted me to drive forward a little bit but thankfully the MDX was still hooked up as the brake wasn't working. DH figured the brakes were burned out. I jumped out of it in hysterics. Instead it was my fault that it wasn't working! DH came and looked to see what the problem was and I totally forgot to take the brake assist off! Finally it was unhooked correctly and I drove the MDX near our site. DH expertly backed up the motorhome into our lake front site. Some lake front campground sites have hookups near the road so you can pull in and have the lake view. This campground has the lake front sites backwards for Motorhomes.

We had pulled pork for dinner and leftover French fries that I cooked in the convection oven. MIL had leftover poached egg, and grits. At the diesel station I picked up Blue Bunny Popsicles. A guy there told me I really had the munchies since I bought more than one. Of course he didn't know one was for DH. MIL still has Banana Pudding ice cream so I didn't get her one.

Day 37 - North West Chicago KOA

Union, Illinois 

Last night I ended up sleeping in my recliner front seat as every time I went into a supine position I had a coughing jag. I still had them periodically through the night but not near as much. I did manage to only wake up fully two times. We left today around 8 AM and went to Perkins Restaurant for breakfast. Last time I went there was in Pennsylvania on the way up to this Environmental camp our older daughter worked for back in like 2003ish. Well I had my face fixed for crepes which I swore they had back then. But maybe I am mixing it up with another restaurant. Anyway, my meal that I selected was way too black peppery for my taste, or it could have been that the pepper stood out more due to my cold? MIL and DH totally enjoyed their meals. Mil has leftovers for dinner. And a leftover chocolate chocolate chip muffin to suffer through too.

We couldn't go to the Spam Museum since it didn't open until 10 AM in Austin, Minnesota which was too close to the campground. And we need to be home by Friday. 

The trees are starting to turn. We are currently in Wisconsin headed for Union, Chicago. Now in Wisconsin we are seeing signs for cheese. DH left I-90 for the lure of cheese but since we couldn't see the store from the ramp, we aborted the cheese mission.

DH took a power nap in Wisconsin. Normally on this trip, I would drive while he was sleeping but I don't want to be driving the motorhome now and get a coughing fit. I have no idea when one will happen. I had one today that I thought was going to do me in. While DH was sleeping, I apparently took a nap too until I woke up coughing my head off. I think I woke DH up too. He was in the bedroom 35' away from me. 

We finally got to the campground in Union, Illinois. Check-in, I had to go up a hill and to the back of the building which is actually the front to get registered. Both the campground personnel had accents like they were from Fargo, the TV show, since we haven't actually been to North Dakota. 

So close, yet so far. I had planned to go to Gino's East tonight but DH was tired,  and the restaurant was an additional 30 miles one way, so I decided to just skip it. This way we don't have to unhook the MDX. We were low on bottled water. At the campground store I bought a gallon of water to hold us over until tomorrow. 

I cooked bratwurst, red bell pepper and onions. Made sandwiches. It's 7:22 now CDT and we are watching NCIS. 

Day 36 - Albert Lea/Austin KOA in Minnesota

We got up at 6 today as we need to be in Forest City by 12:30 PM at the latest. The tour begins at 1:00 PM. We left the campground and got on I-90 East. Only after we were headed East did DH mention we needed diesel. Only problem is we left all the stations back in Sioux Falls. When I looked on Gas Buddy there was not a big selection. We crossed into Minnesota and went to a local station in Beaver Creek. Funny thing I found out is Local was the name of the station. I went into the station store and bought OJ and ice. I could buy a 5 or 20 pound bag. I chose the 5 pound. With bronchitis, laughing just kills me.

In addition, MIL tried to do me in by describing in detail what happened to her when she had pneumonia. I couldn't even tell her to stop talking as I was gagging. After I finally stopped gagging, I said, "STOP TALKING!!!" After I regained my composure, I told her I can't even watch the Mucinex commercial!

States we will have traveled to and through on this trip:
New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee , Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin?, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania

We arrived at the Winnebago Factory Tour earlier then expected. DH wanted me to take a hot shower to help with my cold, however I didn't want to have damp hair on the tour.
He looked for some place to go to lunch. But after mentioning a taco place, I suggested to just have lunch in the motorhome. We had chunk light tuna mixed with mayonnaise and sweet pepper relish.

The orange juice I bought in Minnesota, in my opinion tastes like bug juice. It says 100% orange juice but it is sourish as if it was mixed with lemon and water too. Beggars can't be choosers.

We walked up to the Winnebago Visitors Center at 12:40 to wait for the tour. I was perfectly fine until we went into watch a movie on the plant. The opening credits began, and so did an uncontrollable tickle in my throat. I tried to suppress it, but couldn't. I started coughing and ended up leaving the room. I told DH that I couldn't go on the he tour. I also told him I was going back to the motorhome. I took a nap, and I woke up to the sounds of someone trying to get into the motorhome. When I got up to look it was MIL. She too bailed on the tour as it looked like too much walking for her. The movie was 30 minutes and the actual plant tour was 2 hours. DH came back and said it was interesting and fun. And well worth going there. I'm glad he enjoyed it. While he was on the tour I made reservations at the Albert Lea/Austin KOA in Minnesota. Tomorrow we may go to the Spam Museum in Austin. I actually like Spam, although I haven't had it since I was a kid. The funny thing is the Spam Museum just moved into a new state-of-the-art 14,000 SF facility. DH said, if we give them our email, will they Spam us?

Day 35 - Sioux Falls KOA in SD

Today we got a later start then then normal for a travel day. The Gremlin was up to its old craziness. It directed us South to go North. Google wanted us to make a U-Turn, so we pulled over and checked the route the Gremlin was taking and just let it direct us. I checked My Pilot app and figured that the station would be at the next exit off I-90. So we went there to get diesel, and propane.
MIL and I went into the store. I was looking for the Nemo banana bread cakes we got in Nevada. They did not have them. MIL was able to get what she was looking for. DH had me get him a high-test Diet Coke. While DH was getting the propane tank filled I told MIL we had to get out. It was windy! She and I used the motorhome as a shield to break the wind. Weatherbug said it was 10mph but it felt like a lot more.

We opted not to stop at the Badlands or Wall Drug due to time constraints. Last time we went to Wall Drug in 2002 we had to park in a field, unhook our mini van and drive into Wall and look for parking at Wall Drug. Then we drove down to the Badlands. We were on this washboard type dirt road and I guess the jarring caused the transmission to get stuck in low gear. We didn't have any phone service and we could only travel 20mph. At some point our youngest daughter's cell phone got service. DH used it to call the Chrysler dealer in Rapid City. It was July 3 and the service department said they could get us in but we had to get there ASAP. Well it took an hour and half to get out of the Badlands and back to the motorhome which was in Wall, South Dakota. We hooked the mini van up to the back of the motorhome and drove to the Rapid City Chrysler Dealer. They stayed overtime to fix the minivan.

In our travels today, I saw a sign for Belvidere, SD. We did drive through it to see what was new since 2002. Not much has changed. We saw a horse near the road tied to a fence. Goats in a fenced area and what looked like a Borzoi dog.

DH and I had Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches for lunch today. Several exits after lunch I had DH pull over and I switched with MIL. At some point DH and MIL went to see the Lewis & Clark exhibition. I stayed in the motorhome sleeping.

At some point I woke up to a tractor trailer blaring its horn and giving DH the finger because DH passed the trucker on an upgrade. Then the trucker didn't have enough horse power to pass DH who was using cruise control. The trucker is apparently an "unmentionable" as this blog is Rated PG.

I saw signs for the Corn Palace so I suggested to DH to ditch the trucker and take MIL to see the  Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. We had been to it in 2002 when DH saw signs for it. At this point in time I can't remember if we went into it or not. It's a building which is hard to describe. It is decorated with corn kernels, corn cobs and husks. It is worth seeing at least once. It worked as we lost our trucker friend.

We decided on the Sioux Falls KOA for tonight. Anyone who knows me, I love KOA campgrounds. I had wracked up points on all my stays. I redeemed 25,000 points for $25 dollars off my stay tonight. DH had asked me what I got for the points which I had no idea as I couldn't get the KOA app to work. It didn't recognize any of my emails. So as a result, I just use their main website to make reservations.

DH grilled chicken thighs and I made Rice of Roni Chicken & Mushroom. We also had salad. If DH doesn't snack on the leftover chicken thighs, we will have them for dinner tomorrow night.

Tomorrow we leave early for Forest City, Iowa.

Day 34 - Rapid City KOA, 

South Dakota

Today the tickle began in my throat which caused me to cough frequently, then uncontrollably. Before we left for touring Custer State Park, we found out we didn't have any LP gas. So we drove up to the campground store. DH inquired about the gas and I bought ice. Since the store didn't open until 8 am tomorrow, DH said we would get the LP Gas on the road. 

On the way to Custer State Park, DH pulled over to change drivers as he felt tired. So I drove the rest of the way. MIL rode shotgun and DH took a nap in the back seat. I constantly had to pull over to let tailgaters pass me on the Wild Life Loop as I was doing the 25mph speed limit. We saw a herd of antelope, 3 deer, herd of American Bison, prairie dogs, 1 black-billed magpie, chipmunks, wild donkeys from afar and 1-red squirrel. DH practically slept through the whole loop. After the Wild Life Loop, I tried to follow signs for the Needles Highway except the signs totally disappeared at a dead end. One sign said Custer pointing to the left and the other way said Rapid City pointing to the right. So I kept looking at the idiot map. I drove down the same windy up and down with no guard rail road three times before I finally figured out where we were on the map. Google was useless as I had no phone service or Internet. As we were driving up the Needles Highway, DH woke up and took over driving the rest of the way. We took lots of photos. Afterward we drove down to the Crazy Horse Sculpture which is such a monumental task. We were there in 2002, so when they told us today that it was $28, we said no. Neither DH nor I were feeling that great so I turned the MDX around and at the base of the driveway. I took a long distance profile photo. I was driving and I recognized Hill City as being the town that we passed on the way to Mount Rushmore yesterday. So I headed there. Since it is off season most of the restaurants were closed. There was this diner with a big white sign with black letters that read OPEN. It was closed. Then we went to this restaurant with a big wrap around porch. The person taking names in my opinion was rude when she said in a snotty voice that they weren't taking anymore names as they were closing at 2:30. So we left and went to the Hill City Cafe. The food was fair but it may have been an off day for them. But the staff was friendly. We stopped at a supermarket in Hill City too to get things on MIL's list and French vanilla creamer for me. I also bought orange juice which I only drink when I am sick.

While there I searched for an Urgent Care type facility near me but they were closed on Saturdays. So I Googled CVS Minute Clinics but couldn't find any, but Walgreens implied they had one in an ad but that proved wrong. South Dakota prohibits clinics in pharmacies. The Pharmacy directed us to the Black Hills Urgent Care. I ended up not having pneumonia as the doc thought, but I have acute bronchitis instead. DH also was also sick. So we got our prescriptions and went back to the motorhome.

We are headed to Iowa tomorrow. 

Day 33 - Rapid City KOA, South Dakota

Today when leaving the campground the Gremlin was confused as to where it was so Google Maps had to help get us going in the correct direction. 

It was bright & sunny when we left, however we could see the fog in the valleys on the left side of the road. Then we received notice via an electronic road sign that there was fog ahead. Which proved correct. The fog wasn't as dense as the clouds we went through yesterday. 

Around 10 AM we stopped at a rest stop and DH made his famous scrambled egg where he kills the egg for me. This one had baby Bella mushrooms, onion, maple sausages, cheddar & Jack cheese in it. 

Off of Interstate 25, DH saw a whole herd of antelope lying down in the field. He stopped the motorhome and I took photos. Another car stopped also. It was so amazing!

150 miles away from Wall Drug we saw signs advertising free ice water which is how it got its start. 

When we drove into South Dakota today with not even a welcoming sign. So weird. Every other state that we have been in had a welcome sign. 

Most of the terrain was flat with grass. Lots of cattle and horses were seen. What we did notice is the grass was greener in both Wyoming and South Dakota. 

The Gremlin steered us wrong, and of course it steered us down a dead end street. We unhooked the MDX first then DH pulled forward into someone's lane. Fortunately with a little maneuvering DH was able to turn the motorhome around. I mentioned it was odd that there wasn't a KOA sign when we made the turn. Google to the rescue!!! I drove the MDX with MIL, leading the way. The campground had the big welcoming yellow KOA sign out front. Yay! We finished the registration process and MIL and I led the way to the site. DH had told me no matter what, to line the motorhome sewer compartment up with the septic inlet at the campsite. The last two campground sites we were in, we weren't anywhere near the septic inlets. In order to fit the motorhome, tow bar and MDX in the site, didn't allow us to hook up to the septic.

For some crazy reason the jacks weren't leveling the motorhome. It would go through all of the motions and we would still be cattywampus. DH ran it through its paces 3-4 times with the same result. Then he did it manually and decided to give up.

We all got in the MDX and drove to see Mount Rushmore. DH and I had been there twice before (1998 & 2002). I also was there when I was a teen with my Parents & Sister back in the summer of 1972. At that time my sister and I panned for gold, she didn't find any and the proprietor felt sorry for her and gave her 5 flecks of gold when I only found 1 or 2. I also remember that there were kids that were 14 years old driving pickup trucks, when I was 15 and had to wait until I was 17 to get my learners permit in NJ. I remembered a lot more too about that trip too as I brought our family to see the sights too. 

In 1998, we were here during the Sturgis Bike Rally. I remember at the time when I made reservations, the campground said it was the week of the Bike Rally. I thought she was talking about bicycles, not motorcycles. The whole area had some 10,000 motorcycles that people came in from all over the country and Canada to participate and tour the Black Hills. Crazy!

Another memorable time was in 2002 which was the first Independence Day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in NYC World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. There was a mile long line, police dogs, mirrors looking under everyone's car, National Guard soldiers with machine guns just to get up to the parking lot. Then in addition there were metal detectors to walk through. Our older daughter set off the metal detector with her necklace. BWe also watched the Independence Day Fireworks in the town of Hill City. 

So this time I was surprised that there was no metal detectors to go through to get in. It was just as impressive as every other time I have been there. It's free but the National Park Service charges $11 to park there. One of the precautions is that one can't drive up anywhere near the monument. 

From there we went to a quickie do it your self car wash place. DH wet the MDX down and then I shampooed the MDX and DH rinsed it off. 

From there DH wanted a Bison Steak so we went to the Dakota Steakhouse in Rapid City. $$$$ I ordered a Beef filet minion with deep fried macaroni & cheese. DH ordered a bison ribeye with blue cheese mashed potatoes. DH and I also received salads. MIL ordered New England Clam chowder which we thought was funny. She also ordered an appetizer of fried walleye fish sticks and blue mashed potatoes. We were all stuffed and left without dessert even though they had Crème Brûlée on the menu. 

My phone was low on power and I didn't have my auto charger with me. So I had it on Airplane mode to conserve battery life. When we got back to the motorhome, DH decided to try leveling the motorhome one more time. I frankly can not figure out how the darn things work with only 3 jacks. It's a stupid design. 



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