Saying good-bye and back on the road again for round 2!

This week we made the final arrangements for Tom’s “retirement” and I got everything in order to continue working, for the next 10 months at least!  We had a nice couple of months in Michigan, catching up with family and friends, and we’ll be back again towards the end of the summer!

We accomplished a lot in 2 months – everybody has clean teeth, Nicolas is without his wisdom teeth, and Bryce is without braces . . . Tom has a clean colon . . . Bryce has his Level 1 Driver’s License . . . the car, truck and RV are all in perfect running condition, our finances are in order, and even Casey has a new look!

Before . . .

and After!

On Wednesday, the boys and I went to lunch with my Mom and 3 of my sisters to say good-bye (I took a picture, but somehow it’s missing from my camera!)   Tom joined us for dinner at my Mom’s later, and so did my sister, Deby, and my niece, Katy.  Bryce just had to have his Jaxon fix before we hit the road!

 

 

Jaxon just loves playing with the boys!

Bryce got quite a workout, too!

Soon it was time to say good-bye to Grandma . . . we’re sad to leave her behind, but we’ll be back in 10 months, and who knows . . . maybe we’ll see her sometime this winter, even!

On Thursday I celebrated my 25th Anniversary at Ford with a lunch with my co-workers and Tom (He’s celebrating 25 years, also, but since he was on leave on his anniversary date, his award is delayed . . . so he won’t get a lunch, but he got to attend mine!)

Last night we had a nice evening with Tom’s family – dinner and visiting for one last time before we take off again!

[Year 2 Starting Mileage: car – 82730     truck – 38790]

This morning we woke up to a cold & blustery day, and were glad that we did most of the packing up yesterday!  We got all hitched up, and were on the road by 10am.  We took I-75 south to Toledo, where we picked up I-475 over to US-23.  We exited on US20, which we took all the way to Shipshewana.

By the time we got to Shipshewana, the weather had improved considerably, although it was still windy!  We got the RV parked behind the Amish Visitor Center and took Casey for a walk, before heading over to the 5&20 Restaurant for the lunch buffet.  YUM!  We were hoping that having full tummies would give us some restraint when we went to E&S, the Yoder Popcorn Store, and the Yoder Meat & Cheese Store . . . not so much!   With our shopping complete, we continued on to Nappanee, where we are spending the night at Newmar in one of their free full-hookup sites.  Saturday is a good night to stay at Newmar . . . most of the people here for service last week have moved on, and the majority of incoming rigs show up on Sunday.  We’ll be out of here after mass tomorrow, making our way to the southwest for the winter.

Nicolas has always wanted to travel Route 66 across the country, so that’s what we’re going to do . . . kindof!

We’ll keep the RV on the interstates for the most part, but at each stop we’ll spend a few days travelling the “Mother Road” in the car, and exploring the attractions along the historic route . . . we’re all looking forward to it! 

Follow along with us as we “Get our kicks on Route 66!”

Tecumseh’s Appleumpkin Festival

 

We had yet another beautiful week here in Michigan – not really driving us to set our sights south and west – but we know the weather change is just around the corner, so we are starting to get ready.

Yesterday was “spring cleaning” day . . . I cleaned all of the screens and windows in the RV.  It’s amazing how dirty they get –and how much nicer it looks when they are sparkly clean!

Now Nicolas just needs to clean the outside!

 

Tom had ordered new front brakes for the car, with plans for changing them today at his brother’s house, so yesterday he picked up oil and a filter, so they could take care of that at the same time.

He really likes having a nice clean place to work on the car!

The final upgrade will be new tires, and then it’ll be ready for another year of travelling around the country . . . and nice and safe for my new driver!

 

The big guy was wondering what was going on over there in the barn!!

 

 

 

We’ve been keeping plenty busy while we’re here, but haven’t really done any “fun stuff” other than visiting family, so after we finished our work yesterday we decided to take a drive to Tecumseh for their Appleumpkin Fall Festival.

The crowds were large, and we didn’t actually see much interesting (wanted to check out the antique tractor show, but by the time we got to it, everybody was packing up and leaving), but we did get apples and donuts!

It was a beautiful day to be outside, though, and we did get to see a glassblower creating lovely glass Christmas ornaments.

Back at the campground, it was a great night for a campfire, so Bryce got one started and we roasted some hot dogs for dinner.  After coking, Nicolas his “secret” ingredient for a colorful fire . . .

a section of copper pipe covered by a section of rubber garden hose.  The rubber hose creates the purple flames, and the copper pipe creates the green!  Just a little tip that Nicolas learned from another camper a few years ago . . .

Fall colors and another birthday celebration

We’re still hanging on to our nice fall weather with warm sunny days and nights that are cool, but not freezing.

The leaves are starting to turn, and much of the ground is covered,

but there are still plenty of people in the campground – seasonals, transient workers who haven’t moved south yet or will be here all winter (Brrrr!), and fulltimers like us passing through on their way south.

The Canadian Geese population has been increasing lately, so they must be beginning their migration, too!

 

The Great Blue Heron is still around, too . . . so I guess we’re safe for a little while longer!  Once there guys move on, it’ll be time for us to get going, too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last weekend we had a combined birthday celebration for the 3 cousins – all of their birthdays are within 1 week!

Bryce and Kathleen are both 15 (crazy teenagers!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and Joe is 11. 

 

We all gathered at Grandma & Grandpa’s house for pizza, salad and italian sausage (courtesy of Tom’s Uncle Paul).  Tom got out the grill, and he and Nick were in charge of the grilling.

[Thanks Uncle Paul & Aunt Annamarie – it was delicious!!]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cake and ice cream completed our celebration,

and all four of the cousins lined up to show how much they’ve grown.

Bryce really did have a growth spurt – he’s catching up to Kathleen!

We’re winding down on our list of things to do while we’re home . . . Nicolas got his wisdom teeth out last week (luckily, it went pretty easy for him!),

and Bryce graduated from 2 wheels to 4!

When the days turn colder, and the snow starts to fly

we’ll be out of here!