Coles Creek, Carlyle Lake

OK, so a camping trip without little kids should be less hectic right? Ummmm, not so much.

To set the picture have to talk about my week. This is the first time our Police Academy has had two sessions going at the same time. Both the Basic Law Enforcement Academy and we added the 80 Hour Transition Academy. We're training 53 officers in 2 computer labs.

It's not bad, in fact going pretty well, it's just a lot of cops scattered all over the campus during the Practical exercises. But Thursday I came in as usual for the 7am start, stayed all day & then had to hold over for the college's official graduation. We were here until almost 9pm.

Lucky for me I was signed up to play in SWIC's Foundation Golf Tournament for Friday. Unlucky for us, it rained all week, so carts on path. And it was "unseasonably cold". (Is it winter, is spring what the heck's going on?). But despite weather & course conditions had a great time with Grant & Michelle Wuller. Did get a Birdie on #10 though.

It was a baby, hence the "birdie", he must of just been learning to fly because there were some control issues. He sat on my club and just chirped up storm. We were only a couple of feet from him the whole time.

Finished the tourney around 2pm, headed home hopped into "CC" and headed for the Lake. We did have a 5 minute stop at SWIC to hook up Rita's car to the back of CC.

Took a different route this time, of course we get out there and run into a detour. But we made it. Once we checked in at Coles Creek, they gave us a chance to upgrade to a lakeside campsite and of course we did...

 

Got all set up, fixed a nice dinner & enjoyed the fire, especially since it was "cold!"

Saturday morning started the adventure. The guy I work with, Van, teaches at Lindenwood University. His son was graduating from High School this morning so I agreed to sub for him. Since I was coming into town, Rita scheduled some appointments. (We still need to pay for CC).

So up at 6am quick showers & breakfast, drive into Belleville. Of course Coles Creek is on the far side of Carlyle Lake so it's an extra 20 minutes into Belleville. I taught until 11:30, I walked home from the campus. Rita worked until 12:30, picked me up & we headed back to the Lake.

Once we were back we threw some brats on the grill for lunch, then since we're so close to Carlyle, we decided to head back to watch Saxton's first T-Ball game. Of course we were told its was in the City Park. Nope, empty. We drove around the area and found them at the grade school ball fields.

We were impressed. Kids get three chances to hit a ball tossed by the coach, after that it's onto the tee. Saxton, all of 5 years old, came up swinging and connected on the the first pitch every time.

Once he hit it he wasn't real sure what to do, but with some encouragement he figured it out. He did great in the field too. No picking dandelions or playing with the dirt. He watched every batter and reacted to the ball. Great job, Saxton!!!

After the game we went into RV mode. Returned to the campsite (we logged 160 miles today) and started acting like campers.

Rita started fishing with her new fancy fishing pole.

I sat on the hill watching, planning the big summer trip drinking a beer and listening to music.

Perfection!!

Of course the rod & reel Rita got isn't as easy to use yet, more practice is needed. So she wasn't casting as well or as far as she wants. So we are sitting there and some kind of fish are jumping out of the water about 20 yards from her, like they were teasing her. Naa, naa, naa,naa, you can't catch me. So after awhile she came back up to me and we opened some wine....

Nice dinner and a fire seemed appropriate.

Slept in Sunday, then nice big breakfast, Rita's a great cook. Then we walked all over the campgrounds for an hour or so.

Rita decided to try fishing again. But this time she decided to use Mica's "Dora the Explorer" fishing pole and???

Success!! We think it was a "crappie". After I suggested releasing it she did.

Brandi came out for lunch and relaxing in the shade. Later that day started cleaning up.

Had a guy walk up admiring CC, he turned out being an E. St. Louis PD Captain. Gave him a quick tour then loaded up & headed home.

Surprisingly, with not having grand kids with us everyday camping we weren't exhausted when we got home. Go figure....

Next week, Rend Lake. And nothing but fun. No road trips, no babysitting. Just us. Thinking golf, bike riding & winery......

Posted with Blogsy

Dam West Carlyle Lake

What a great weekend.
Started off pretty well as planned, as long as you don't count me forgetting to bring my God-Daughter. You know, getting older you forget things. We'll this time I forgot Amy. Luckily she called & asked us about the new exit by our house & told us she was close. Fortunately we were still close, by QT. So we turned around & picked her up.
Uneventful drive down there, took about an hour. Quick check in & on to site #87. As we pulled up, my sister Peg & Dennis walked over to watch me back CC into the site. Great an audience. But thanks to YouTube Rita & I have this almost to an art. Using the 3 in 1 lesson on backing we were in with one attempt. Perfectly aligned & ready to party. Quick leveling, hook-up, and slide outs. We are done. Waited for Brandi, Saxton, Mica & Kolton then off to dinner.
We all went to meet Jody, Chandler and their kids at Keyesport, IL for fish at "The Keys", awesome walleye. Then we all went back to Dam West. Spent a nice evening drinks & family.....
We decide to celebrate Mother's Day on Saturday so we would have time to enjoy the food, company & great outdoors. Our group woke up early and had a nice breakfast of crockpot oatmeal, granola & raisins. Brandi had to drive into Belleville for some appointments so we took care of the kids.
Peg's site woke up an hour later. Dennis & Chandler fixed them all a breakfast of pancakes & eggs. Somehow my grand kids ate a second breakfast with them, not a little one but a big breakfast.....
Then we were off to the races....the little kids did everything, playing with every toy imaginable. Then riding bikes, playing in the mud...

Chandler seemed to always be in the mix with all 5 little kids. Between running alongside them when they were bike riding or playing ball with them...wow..thank you Chandler. I would have been worn out by noon...
We went for walk to the playground, then decided to go down to the lake. Once we found a nice open spot we walked down to the shore. That's where Kolton found the "dead snake".
First off, it was a really small snake. And we knew it was dead because it was a headless snake. The kids were mesmerized by the snake & after some quick discussion we decided it need a funeral. So here we are, lakeside, with driftwood & a dead snake. Yup, you guessed it burial at sea, well lake.
Chandler found a piece of drift/plywood, carefully laid the snake on it. The kids collected a stick to make a mast. Leaves for a sail & flowers to decorate it. After a few words (not really). We launched the Funeral Pyre.

It went out about 2 feet & sank. But the kids were pleased. Hiked back to the campsite, caught a couple of bugs on the way. All in all, good times......
Big BBQ pork steak dinner with everyone. Bonfire & 's'mores. Perfect day!
Sunday was started with GG omelettes & more playtime. Man these kids keep on going & going & going......
I took the Gustafson's for a walk. Took this picture.

Late Sunday packed up & headed home.
Ironically I forgot Amy again. I know she was with her mom & dad, but she parked her car in CC's spot, so we stopped @ SWIC & they dropped her off.
Got CC home & unpacked. Started the laundry & relaxed.
The weekend went too fast. But we had a GREAT time. Special thanks to Peg & Den, for helping us & having the thing we didn't know we didn't have.
Next weekend, Rita & I are going solo @ Coles Creek....

Posted with Blogsy

Our First "Camping" trip!

I'm not sure we can call it camping when we take CC out. But we will for now.

Today after work Rita & I are heading to Carlyle Lake and staying at Dam West. We're meeting up with my sister Peg & her clan.

Brandi & the kids are going to stay with us. Right now the plan is The Keye's for dinner tonight, love their wall-eye. Then celebrating Mothers Day Saturday afternoon with a big barb-b-que.

Weather might not want to cooperate but we'll give it a shot.

More to follow......

Posted with Blogsy

Driving Lessons

We took CC out today, so Rita could learn how to drive her.

First we watched 8 really nice YouTube videos to help figure out where everything is.

I drove her out of the alley and onto Centerville Ave. Used the new double circle drives south of Quik Trip and headed out to SWIC.

Once there we followed the directions from YouTube and marked the front end blind spot. You can't see the first 17 feet in front of you. Then we marked the mirrors so Rita knew where the back wheels were.

After some seat adjustments & mirror moving Rita was ready. She discovered the breaks were touchy, of course I was standing at the time. We made 4 or 5 circuits in the parking lot practicing left turns & trying to keep CC in her lane. It's harder than you think.

Rita got the hang of it pretty quick. Then Brandi stopped by and Saxton, Mica & Kolton all hopped on board for the lap around the parking lot. They thought it was cool.

Then we turned her around and started making right turns. Surprisingly the kids started getting bored with this and went home. After a number of laps Rita drove CC on the new outer road a couple of times then headed for the highway!!!!!

We headed towards Scott Air Force Base & then eastbound on I-64....

It was a little windy & Rita was white knuckling the steering wheel a little but so did I on my first road trip.

We took an exit, switched drivers and brought her home.

Here's the cool part. We backed her into her spot in one try, almost like experts. Thank you YouTube!

I did a little more tree trimming & we locked her up.

We went to Bed Bath & Beyond and got some "stuff" to get her ready for our first camping trip in a couple of weeks.

We're also getting the driveway installed Monday morning so I won't have to worry about her sinking into the lawn.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Shhh.. CC's napping

Unpacked CC, cleaned her up. Showed her off to some family & close friends. Then closed her up until our first real "camping" trip in a few weeks.

She takes up a lot of room, so we might make some changes in the parking arrangements. Plus I trimmed some branches on a tree across the alley so she won't get scratched up when we bring her home next time.
A little more about her name. When Jackie had Hunter there was a discussion about what they should call Rita. I was easy, PaPa. Rita wanted to be called Empress, but Jackie wasn't having any part of that. So after discussion Rita settled on GeGe. When Jackie was little she called Brandi, DeeDee so when her boys were little they called her Aunt DeeDee.Here's a shocker, Brandi's kids struggled with saying Aunt Jackie & now call her Aunt KeeKee.
And finally, our only granddaughter, Micaela, her brothers call her La-La. So, therefore, naming our newest girl, the RV we call CC (for Country Coach) only makes sense.
Check back every once in awhile. When we take CC out for our next adventure, we'll blog about it............

Posted with Blogsy

Home at last

CC made it home today.
Once again a leisurely start. Pulled out of the camp site around noon. Windy today made it more interesting but as our allies from Down Under say, "no worries".
Went to the college,(SWIC) where we met with Brandi and practiced backing up CC in to parking spots. Since we got her we've only backed up once, did pretty good.
Headed home from there. The side streets of old Belleville were tight and we got her into the alley behind our house ok. But it took a little jockeying to get her in to her parking spot.
We might have to relook at this. Rita's garden might get moved, again.
Cleaned off the bugs, again. Got her buttoned up and headed to Annbrair for a dinner dance. Had a perk there free wine sampling for the summer wine selection.
Now we're settled in for the night. Planning on playing house tomorrow, organizing the storage, getting ready for our first "real camping trip".
Stay tuned for the latest in "The Adventures of CC & Me".

Posted with Blogsy

Hello Illinois!

CC has crossed the border and is in her new state. She might take a little time getting used to Illinois, she's been living in Mississippi for 6 years.
Today was an easy day. Leisurely driving through Nashville, doing better in traffic. Paducah was interesting, one "narrow" lane construction zone crossing the bridge. Oh yeah the interesting part was it was during a thunderstorm.
Stopped in a great campgrounds in Sesser, IL. Thinking we'll practice backing CC into vacant campsites tomorrow, we've only used drive thru sites so far.
Then home after that......
Hope she fits in the backyard.

Posted with Blogsy

Hi! Jack

I don't mean the airplane thing. Today's plan Jack Daniels's Distillery.
Slept in today, a little house cleaning & then did my first try at servicing the septic system. Thank you YouTube.
Today was the drive through the Smokey's. CC did great, cruise control kept us right on the speed limit, and the Jake brake kept us from becoming a runaway. If you have ever driven through the mountains & looking for the indian, you know "Watch for Falling Rock", well we found him...

Up the mountain.

Down the mountain...

Made the relatively short drive to the Manchester KOA. Once again set CC up in record time. Even after bullshitting with the "campground guide" (read, old guy). It was fun; he was full of tips.
Hopped into the Fit, and went on to Lynchburg, TN. Home of the Jack Daniel's Distillery.

Signed up for the deluxe tasting tour. Had an hour wait so we walked to the town square and had lunch at Barrellhouse BBQ. Great food, great service.

Moseyed back to the Distillery.

Here are a couple of oddities, Lynchburg is in a dry county, so they couldn't charge us for the whiskey at the tasting building, only the tour. The whiskey is free. They can only give you one ounce of whiskey, so they offered three 1/3 ounce glasses of Gentleman Jack, Old #7, & Single Barrel. Thankfully Rita was driving & gave me her share after one sip.
I think Jack might have been playing a little grab ass with Rita here.

Here's the original and only spring used for Jack Daniel's whiskey.

And here's the walk to the town square, so it was grueling.

They sell commemorative bottles in the tour center. Ironically they can only charge you for the bottle, the whiskey inside of it is free. Got to love loop holes.
Now back to this dry county thing. It's the smallest county in Tennessee. Over 400 people work at the Distillery, and then the whole town is based on it. All employees get a free bottle of bottle of Jack every 1st Friday of the month so they're not teetotalers. So what's the big deal.....
After the tour, walked back to the Square for some store browsing. Then headed back to CC. Of course it wouldn't be a complete roadtrip without visiting a Tennessee Wal-Mart. Picked up a couple of supplies then dinner at Casa del CC.
Spaghetti dinner while watching Tin Cup. And now, I'm relaxing outside with a bottle of wine & a star filled sky.
Probably should be thinking about where we'll sleep tomorrow, but no worries. We can decide on the road.

Posted with Blogsy

Georgia on my mind

Well we had a nice night at the Eagles Roost. That was a 210 mile drive from the dealership. We packed up & headed north on I-75
Getting better at driving her. Don't forget she's 43 feet plus another 18 feet for Rita's car. Cruised at a comfortable 65 mph. And stopped at a rest area for lunch. Leftover pork steak sandwiches.

My main goal was to get through Atlanta before rush hour. Mission accomplished, but a little interesting with everyone blowing by me. I chose to drive 2-3 miles under the speed limit.
We decided to stop outside Chattanooga, TN. Staying at Raccoon Mountain RV Resort. Haven't seen any raccoons yet but we're surrounded by the mountains.
We're getting pretty good at the campsite thing. Pulled in nearly perfect right off the bat.(Pull thru makes it easy). Stopped CC, put on the parking brake, hit the automatic leveling button, wait 2 minutes, extend the slides & she's all set.
Rita helped me hook up power, water & sewer. Total time 5 minutes. Beer in hand on a chair 10 minutes tops. Relaxed for an hour then threw some steaks on the grill, I may never go back to work.
Only issues we have is the "Hot exhaust" light came on, not sure what that means. Owners manual just said to use caution in Fire hazard areas.
Still trying to figure out all the remotes. We have 2 entertainment centers. One up from & one in the master bedroom. I've lost my AV touch. But I'll work on it.
So with the 210 miles yesterday & 360 miles today we decided to hit the pump. Wowza....

Seems like a lot, but the resorts are cheap. Eating at "home" and loving the views......

Now we're sitting in front of a campfire with a couple of cocktails blogging.

Posted with Blogsy

Day 1 of CC & me

After spending the night in the dealer parking lot we finished delivery and started the trip home.

Nate helped me hook up Rita's Honda Fit for towing, & pulled me onto a side street. He got out & I was ready to drive off. I yelled for Rita to come up front....no answer. I walked to the back, no sign of her. I called her cell phone, shocker it was on the counter. All of a sudden I see her hustling down the street trying to catch up. She was in the RV store paying for some last minute items. All aboard!!

Then we trusted the new GPS to get us on our way. As usual the damn thing took us through town & there were some anxious moments while I'm driving this beast plus tow car, but we did it!!

Hopped up on the Florida tollway, wow you pay more for 5 axles A couple of times the booth attendant had to stretch to get to me, because I was tentative about pulling up close.

Started driving at 60 miles an hour and got pretty comfortable. Wound up cruising at 65.

We stopped at a couple of rest stops along the way for me to relax and stretch. One nice thing was our potty breaks were on our OWN toilet. That's a plus. Rita felt sorry for those travelers having to use the rest area toilets.

Our 1st night was in Georgia. Stopped at mile marker 5 in Lake Park, GA. Staying at Eagles Roost Park. We are nestled in the Spanish Moss covered trees.

 

Made some quick friends. There seems to be a design flaw in the tow car, when we unhooked it it wouldn't start. The new neighbor has had the same issue & had a battery booster pack to start us up. (We have one now).

Then broke out the baby Weber grill and grilled some pork steaks, cabbage & onions. Delicious!

Some other neighbors came by & Rita gave them a quick tour, then did a tour of their 1998 custom bus. She said it was like a million dollar rock star bus from way back....

Winding down the day with some drinks & jazz. I may never go back to work!

 

Posted with Blogsy