June 19, 2014 - Celina, Ohio

Last night we had severe storms all night. I played Fishing Dog at midnight, which is what I call standing on the steps in my barefeet in my PJs and the dog on a long retractable leash goes out and does her business. She "swims" around so to speak and I am able to retract her when she finishes. I have played Fishing Dog with all of our dogs. They know the routine too. I got up at 8:30 AM and by the time we packed everything up for travel including hooking up the SUV, it was around 10. We drove through the campground and at the front office there was a motorhome with a car attached on a car dolly blocking the way out. After sitting behind it for 15 minutes George got impatient and decided to go between them and a car that was parked. I got out and checked to see if there was enough room. The driver came out and was telling me to wait a moment, that they would be moving soon. I told them just to stay put as George was already squeezing through and I needed them to move like a hole in the head. When he got through, I climbed in and removed Abby from my seat and sat down. Abby jumped into my lap and we were on our way! Yay! As we were driving down the lane to get out we came upon a jeep going the other direction. Futher down the road as we came upon the rail road tracks to our dismay the track repair crew had the road closed. And it was definitely closed as the tracks were removed and so was the wood between them, that allow vehicles to drive over the tracks. I climbed out and went to talk to some guys standing watching the crew work. They told me that the foreman gave them an estimate of 3PM for completion. We all were griping that no one was informed, when the foreman pointed out this bedraggled cardboard sign with a notice written on it. Well, soon the campground owner arrived to find out no one could get in or out, and it was the only access route. Several homes were also affected by the closure. Everyone was wondering what would happen in an emergency? An insurance adjuster who had to go to Chicago, and then to Wisconsin for hail/tornado damage couldn't leave either. The foreman told him 45 minutes, but neither one of us believed it. I stood out for a while talking to the guys and then went in the motorhome to call my Mom and Dad, letting them know what was going on. I also texted daughters, MIL Fran and friend Laurie with photos. I took a mess of photos with my Rebel also. George took my place chatting with the guys and when he came in for lunch he predicted that they would be finished by 1 PM, and he was right. We finally were able to be on our way at 1:15 after one of the workman moved his truck. The trip from Yorkville, IL without stopping for diesel, breaks or traffic would take 4 hours and 46 minutes. Well, I called the campground to double check as to when the office closed, and it closed at 8. We arrived at the camground with 15 minutes to spare. We checked in, paid and proceeded to go park in our spot. They only had back in spots. So we unhooked the SUV and I got out to direct George into the spot. There was no one in the spot across the street from us, so George pulled in to that spot expecting just to back right into the spot we were assigned. Well, as his back tires hit the grass, and he bagan to back up, that was when the sinking began. Then he tried to go forward, and was able to go a little bit, however, the wallowing in the mud began. George told me to see if the office person had left yet, and to see if someone could help us. As I drove to the front, I stopped at the stop sign and looked both ways. A trailer was blocking my view of the road from the right, so I moved up slowly to make the turn. Suddenly two little kids flew in front of me on bikes with their parents just behind them. I screeched to a halt! Lost 10 years off my life! Thankfully I am use to campgrounds and kids on bikes. Many years ago when daughter Kell was about 7-ish, we were at Cape Island Campground in Cape May, NJ. Kell was one of those kids on a bike that ran into the back of a car. Scared the lady to death! Fortunately no one was hurt, and there was no damage to the car. And we gave Kell the riot act, that she had to be careful, and not to go racing around the campground in the soft sand, which prevented her from stopping in time. So when I arrived at the office, the door was locked, and I knocked as I could see the person in there. Then I tried calling on the phone, hiwever, she came an unlocked the door to find out what was wrong? I told her what happended so she was able to get the owners to help. They met me back at the campsite, and surveyed the problem. One of them got their backhoe and after a lot of pulling, and spinning backhoe tires, which finally were able to get a perch on the road, they were able to pull the motorhome out of the mud. Of course the road was damaged from the spinning backhoe tires, but the owner wasn't upset or worried as he said they had just gotten 5" 0f rain and he spent the last couple of days pulling motorhomes and trailers out of the mud. So it was about 9 PM by the time we went to a local dive for dinner. Both George and I laughed at the fact that our travel buddies would never go to a place like that. Another thing that our travel buddies would find amusing is the campground only has 30 amps. Kozy Campground is a huge campground with mostly seasonal sites. It is nestled next to Grand Lake, which the locals dub as the other Great Lake. It is a big lake. A portion of the campground has lagoons behind the sites, which summer residents have their boats behind their houses. The campground also has a marina although we have only seen it via their map. Tomorrow we are headed to Fleetwood RV for another motorhome factory tour. And to Berne, Indiana to a Suisse area with cheese making and woodworking.