etrippe1

On our last road trip of the year. Heading north to Fish Creek WI in Door County, then the UP of MI to visit Tahquamenon Falls, White Fish Point, Soo Locks, Mackinac Island, and then downstate on the sunrise side to Oscoda, MI and finally Ann Arbor before heading home at the end of Oct. Three great lakes and hopefully some fall colors. Have a great fall everybody!

Toni, This might help http://www.motorhome.com/download-dinghy-guides/

So sorry to read that your dad has passed. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Stay strong

Freddy and Delcie, sorry to hear about your cat. We know how painful it is after loosing a pet. But.......on a high note, good to hear about your rehab going so well. Good luck in getting out by Christmas. eric and karla

All that talk of "feels good to be settled in for a bit" is actually why Karla and I bought a place. After 8 years of fting, and being at the park in IL doing the park host for 4 yrs, we were ready for something new. (but old) And since we wanted to be part of the g-kids lives, while they want us around, we felt here and now was time. We spent the most of the summer looking up and down the Fox River and Chain o lakes for a house but just as important a nice small town. We wanted to be 20 miles from the kids, but didn't find anything. Then we expanded to 25, and Crystal Lake came into our sights. It's a great little midwestern city on the edge of Chicago Land with a metra train to the city, a lake, and a nice little downtown district. We bought a 1400 sq ft ranch built in the 65, walking distance to the dwntwn (1/2 mile) and lake (1 mile) and 25 miles to the kids. There is room in the driveway for the mh but city allows only 10 days at a time, 3 times a yr. That works for us. City water and sewer is a plus too and a dry basement with no sump pump to worry about. We didn't know this till after buying, but the 2015 best small cities to live in, WalletHub ranked Crystal Lk as #10. So we moved in, got our stuff here from MI storage, we are wondering why we kept some of the things we did. So many clothes and no couch but a lawn mower and snow blower. A new couch is coming tomorrow. We kept a portable fire pit which we had to get a permit from the fire dept to have a fire in, which we did and already have had a fire in it. We are taking the mh one last seasonal run to MI next Tues for a couple of weeks and then come home and winterize it for the winter. A spring a trip is in the planning stages to the Pacific NW so we are still mh people but just in a vacation setting. So thats our story and we are sticking to it! Hope all is well with everybody!

well if it's weather update time, here ya go, in greater Chicago land it has been rainy for the past few days and in the 60's but today it will be partly sunny and maybe 70. Fall is in the air and the colors are the coming. (so is the snow, I know. But I am ready) We've already turned on our fireplace for a enjoyable night by a fire. Haven't done that in 8 years. Spent yesterday helping my daughter to get ready for our grandson's 5 birthday party. Oh what fun!

you caught us and we did. We still own the mh and plan on traveling but not always out of here for the winter. I will be posting soon on what we've gone and done.

Very sad. RIP Lee.

This is sad news. As all have said, he has been such a great mentor with such a wealth of knowledge. So sad!

congratulations you guys, that will lower your stress levels!

And life is good when you have each other. Happy belated!

Whaaaaaat????? I can't believe you wrote that, that is so.......

looking for a motorcycle rider? Saw an article about the guy trying to break a driving on water record that didn't make it. The water being Canyon Ferry Lake. He even had a life jacket and a safety rope. Sad news. But what was he thinking?????? And a night too. Glad to hear Jim is getting out fishing. And I love walleye. We don't have plans yet for winter. Maybe AZ, maybe not.

thanks. We are hoping for that too. We will be in Chicago by the 1st of May. Will you still be in IL? How is Pauls' knee? Hopefully better than before the surgery.

I monitor this one but as you can see it's not daily. I start packing today to start on our spring travel plan. yea! As spring arrives and brings the warmer weather to the north, travel safe everybody!

So sorry for her loss,

Hey Sandie, thanks for asking We are in Port Richey FL now and doing fine. This season has been very wet, cold and windy but at least we don't have to shovel any of it. We have been somewhat busy. We have been wanting/needing a new kitchen sink and countertop and we have been able to get that done while here. So thats been fun. We are still planning on going to Chicago for the summer, and are planning a route thru Washington DC in April as we head north. Karla has never been so she is pretty excited. We will be there at the end of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Also big news is my son moved (today) from Chicago to Seattle. So that means more trips out west for us in the future. The only down item, which is a big one, is that Kora is showing her age (11 now) and not doing so great. She is breathing hard and faster than normal but all tests and x rays come back good. The vet here is not sure what to do. We are in contact with our vet back home and he is also stumped. We are just playing it day to day and keeping her comfortable. Time marches on.

We are happy for Jim and you Sandie and Merry Christmas to all!

yea!!!!!!!!!

Packer debacle? As a long time Lions fan I can now say I've lived to see just about everything. Next stop for a Lions fan, a win in a playoff game, then up, the Super Bowl. Yah, I'm young enough for that to happen. Won't be this year for either of those, but a win in Green Bay, like the game Sunday, boy was that unbelievable. We were in Port Aransas in Feb 2010, saw the beach once. Very windy and rainy. But you have to go to the belt sander races at The Gaff. I think they are on the weekend at 4:30. You need to check it out.

great to hear all is well w/ Jim. And I'm sure that both of you are glad he is at home recovering.

Linda & Ed: Thanks for the info, I did look into the tour in Lebonan and we will have to save that for the next time passing through. We still have Woodford Reserve to visit, the last of the original's from the tour. Then our passport will be complete. The tasting with history at Four Roses was fun. The Buffalo Trace tour was the best in my opinion. They aren't part of the "Kentucky Bourbon Tour" anymore but still do tours and tastings. We have left the area now and came to Bandy Creek CG in the Big South Fork Nat'l River. Very nice cg but don't come in from the east as we did. Many switch-backs w/ 13% grades to add to the fun......We made it safely but only because there wasn't any traffic from the opposite direction as I went through the turns. Nowhere on any cg info did it mention the switchbacks.

Paul, you are right they are. And we were trying to remember from when we did it a few years back if we were charged, thanks for helping us remember. Should have finished it then. I think I'm reading where Buffalo Trace and 1792 are still free.

Headed South as posted. Landed in Bardston KY, The Bourbon Capital of the World. And tomorrow Karla and I will start checking out some distilleries. Five years ago we visited and made it to only two.This time we plan on finishing the entire tour, if we can figure it out. They have added some distilleries and taken away others from the Passport map so I'm confused. And I haven't even had a single tasting yet!

Just checking in so we won't be discarded with the quitters. Currently in MI and heading south the first of Nov.ish..... Going to KY. to finish the Bourbon Trail first, then maybe Smokey Mnts. or not....it's up to us and the weather but we will be south enough before it snows here in the midwest. Looking forward to seeing anybody from the group in FL this winter. later