Thanksgiving

Have been busy since we got here. Last Sunday we went to Des Moines to do some shopping and then to Zoe's basketball in Ankeny. This week we found the Fareway store and laundromat in Nevada. Had supper Monday night at the Country House restaurant which is next to the campground. The food was very good. Had supper with Tony and Kathy Tuesday night. Then played Chinese checkers and don't break the ice with Eli and Allie. After that we watched the final episode of dancing with the stars. On Wednesday and Friday went golfing at the Twin Anchors golf course next to the campground.

Zoe working with Sweats

Zoe on the Court. She is left of center in the picture.

On Thursday we stopped at the Cedars in Madrid in the morning to spend some time with my mom before we went down to Jeff and Micky's for Thanksgiving dinner and to celebrate Zach's(13) and Zoe's(9) birthdays. We had a great lunch. Then looked at their new travel trailer. Has two big slide outs and is very roomy. They have a Wii so before the day was over they had the Grandparents bowling, golfing, playing tennis and running the cows. It was alot of fun and I'm sure very entertaining to the younger ones there. We also watched the movie Wall-e. In addition to all that Zach and Zoe opened their birthday presents which they seemed to enjoy and then we had cake, pie and ice cream.

Birthday Cake

Zoe Opening Presents

Zach Opening Presents(In background Micky's Mom, Her Brother and Micky)

This weekend we have a get together with Nancy's brothers and sisters in Boone.

We're Back in Iowa

Drove from Mahomet, IL to Colo, IA today and set up at the Twin Anchors campground. Looking forward to the next couple of weeks but it will be busy. Christmas shopping, Thanksgiving, ball games, time with family/friends and a trip to Forest City to have some service work done on the motorhome.

In PA our campground was next to US Hwy 30 and we could see and hear the traffic go by and here we are again at a camground in Iowa next to US Hwy 30 and we see and hear the traffic go by. But the highway does not seem to be quite as busy here as it was in PA.

After being in PA we almost forgot that roads like this existed.

Frost on the Front Windshield This Morning. Temp was 18 degrees.

Iowa Bound

We're headed back to Iowa for Thanksgiving and an early Christmas. We're sad to be leaving PA but looking forward to seeing family and friends back in Iowa. As of tonight we are near Mahomet, IL. Last night we spent at a Wal-Mart near Columbus, OH.


We had planned to head back on Sunday but with 50mph wind gusts forecast in the PA mountains we decided to wait until Monday. Monday started out nice and sunny with calm winds but by the time we got to the mountains it was windy and snowing. Visibility was down to maybe 200 yards at times but the snow was not sticking to the roads. What follows are some pictures we took on Monday.

PA Country Side

Why go over the mountain when you can go through it.



Inside the mountain.

Where did this come from?

Our front yard view on Monday night.

On Tuesday we traveled to Mahomet, IL. The main event of the day was near Indianapolis on I-70 when traffic came to a complete stop due to a truck accident. It took 50 minutes to go 3 miles.

Early PA Christmas

On Saturday we had an early Christmas with Travis and Lynn at their home in Christiana. We had lunch, played rummy and then exchanged Christmas gifts. Lynn, Travis and the grandkids all pitched in and put together a great Christmas lunch and afternoon. We had a wonderful time.

Our Christmas Hosts

(Lynn, Jordan, Devon, Alexis, Travis and Danny)

The Christmas Tree
(The grandkids made the Christmas Tree. There was Christmas music playing and the table was set with Christmas dishes.)

Williams Run - The Road to the Christmas Party
(Note - No Shoulders and No Ditches. This is typical of the roads in this area.)
(We had rain instead of snow and it was 70 degrees.)

Wet Maple Leaves Stick to the Motorhome

Just an Update

We're having Christmas this Saturday with Travis, Lynn and their family. Their family with ages includes Devon(12), Alexis(12), Danny(10) and Jordan(8). They are four great kids and we enjoy spending time with them. They also have three dogs. That makes a house full. We did our Christmas shopping a couple days ago and are looking forward to exchanging gifts this weekend.


Alexis spent last Saturday night with us. Grandpa and Alexis went for a walk on Sunday morning and took the camera so they could create a blog post. (See the November 9 post.) Sunday afternoon we took Alexis shopping (Peeples, Gamestop, Dollar General, Fashion Bug and Walmart). Took a break from shopping and had lunch at Arby's.

It rained here today, not just raindrops but also leaves. There are so many trees in the campground they have to use a leaf blower to blow leaves off the roads so they can be seen. They have raked leaves two or three times, but there are still a few leaves on the trees. With so many trees it makes it dark in the motor home. I have a hard time getting up in the morning because it is dark in the bedroom. I guess that's not such a bad thing. :)

Vern has started trading stocks on the internet. He's got too much time on his hands. We need to get him a real job. His approach is what ever the experts recommend do the opposite. He likes Wells Fargo, Verizon, Catepillar and General Mills. I hope they like him.

Sunday Morning Walk

Sunday morning Alexis and Grandpa went for a walk and took some pictures along the way.

Next to the campground is an Antique Machinery Museum.

Pretty Colors

See how Alexis' arms stretch across one lane.

Now that is narrow.

Where's Grandpa? I guess he couldn't keep up with the 25mph speed limit. I'll just sit here and wait for a while. Hopefully he will show up.

Oh there he is.

Finally!!!!

And Alexis still had energy left over for a game of tether ball when we got back to the campground.

Look how taaaaaaaall the trees are in the campground.


More pretty colors.

We're Back!!!

Lancaster County - Amish Country

Miscellaneous pictures from the area.

Grocery store parking lot.

Amish School House
Hot Air Balloon that flew over Lynn and Travis' House.

Bailing Hay.

Big Barns

Bailing Hay

Picking Corn

Plowing the field

Amish Transportation

New York City

Travis and Danny took a school trip to Ellis Island and Liberty Island on Friday. Travis took the following pictures while there.

Gettysburg National Military Park

Gettysburg is only about 70 miles from where we are so last Tuesday we took a trip to the Gettysburg National Military Park and visitors center. It commemorates the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg that took place July 1-3, 1863. We toured the battlefields(6000 acres) and visitors center. Saw where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address and where he stayed the night before he delivered the address.

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday

Alexis

We celebrated Alexis' birthday on Saturday, November 1st. Went to Shady Maple Smorgasboard after the morning soccer games ended. Their food is excellent and all to easy to over indulge. Then opened presents and had ice cream cake in the evening.

PA Soccer Stars

These are the soccers stars we watched this fall. They each got their own set of trading cards.

Campsite

Pic of our campsite in Kinzers, PA.

On the Road Again

After 5 fun months at the Ledges State Park we're on the road again. First stop was Forest City, IA to pickup our new retirement home on wheels. Took two days to move everything from the old one to the new one. Then we stayed in the motorhome on the dealers lot for a week to make sure everything worked. Good thing we did because they had to fix over a dozen things. We got to know Forest City fairly well. Location of laundromat, grocery store, restaurants, parks and Winnebago plant. With everything ready to go we headed East to Pennsylvania. Along the way we made stops in Mahomet, IL and Buckeye Lake, OH. We arrived in Kinzers, PA on October 7th and have made this our Fall home. Will be here until November 16th.


Moving Day - We lined up the doors between the two motorhomes and put down 2x8 planks in the doorways and walked our stuff over to the new motorhome.

Walking the plank.

It took a few days to put all of this away.