On July 7 we left Rochester for a summer adventure. The plan is to spend a week in St Paul, MN at the Fairgrounds with a few thousand other RVers making new friends and getting some things repaired and learning new and old things about the life style and the equipment we depend on. Then we will move north for some more experiences that are dependent on our own resources. Then we think we will drive over the top of the Great Lakes and return through Niagara Falls eventually, with a stop in Toronto and Hamilton to see family. Time will tell. After a ten day stop in Rochester we will head on down to Charlottesville for a reprise of Camp Goldberg. Yechiel and company are flying in to Dulles and meeting us all at Dan’s place where we will spend the week. They are responsible for planning the events.
But I get ahead of myself.
Our normal driving day is 6 hours or about 250 to 300 miles. On Monday we rolled out at 8:45 AM with no real objective other than to get past Toledo, OH. Somehow as we rolled through Toledo at 4:30 or so, it seemed too early to stop. There was plenty of daylight left and neither of us was road weary yet. So on we rolled. Eventually as we were approaching Elkhart, IN we decided enough is enough and I logged on to OvernightRVParking.com and determined there was a Wal Mart that permitted overnight parking just off the Interstate. While we were there I figured out that we were less than 6 miles form the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum. Click here for the site. How could we not stop there? After some minimal shopping and a good night’s sleep, we drove to the Museum for a visit. Admission was $6 each and we saw many historical RV’s starting with 1916 trailers and progressing through some stunning machines from the 30’s. There are also RVs from the 40’s through 70’s represented and of course several brand new models in an area labeled “Go RVing.” We tore ourselves away and rolled on down the road headed for Madison, WI to see Mimi (my cousin) some of Madison and to go kayaking on Lake Mendota. As we traveled we were in contact with several people including Janet and Bob Corin, fellow members of CHAI, our Jewish Chapter of FMCA. Since we were headed in together we agreed to meet in Madison and travel together to the Convention. We surprised ourselves, and Mimi, by arriving in Madison in mid afternoon. We had called ahead and told her to expect us and she invited us to dinner at her house for that evening. We reciprocated for the following night. Wow, Madison, WI about 800 miles in two days. It may not seem like a lot to many, but we seldom do two long days back to back and while the second day was about 300 miles, that included driving right through Chicago on I 90.
As we were driving to Mimi’s the Corins called to let us know that they too were running a day ahead and they were set up next to G 2 in the campground. We promised to drop in when we got back and continued on to dinner. We had a wonderful evening with Mimi and the vegetarian meal was wonderful.
We parted exhausted and looking forward to kayaking and dinner on the coach the next night. We spent some time with Janet and Bob when we got back and then we turned in. By now the cold I had left home with was starting to clear and Carol was coming down with it. Wednesday dawned clear and we took the Corins into Madison with us to tour the Capital see what else there was to see in that area. After the tour we met Mimi for lunch and then we went on to Olbrich Gardens, which had been highly recommended and then back to meet Mimi at the coach. She and I went kayaking for about an hour while Carol got the basics of dinner together. On our return it was getting dark and we buttoned up and settled in to dinner and conversation. Eventually it became time for even that to end and we said goodbye and started to square away for two more road days. Thursday to reach Fairchild, WI and a lovely campground called Briarcliff. At a roadside cheese store the staff suggested we listen to weather radio as the weather was getting dicey.
As we drove on the sky turned stormy and the winds began to blow. There were several rain squalls and plenty of thunder and lightening. We reached the park and settled in and prepared for an early departure on Friday to reach the fairgrounds before noon. The weather news was not comforting and there were no storm shelters near the campground. Not a really happy idea, either way. As we turned in we were slashed by a vicious storm and there was a second sometime in the middle of the night. The third started at 5 AM, at least that was when it reached a pitch to wake me, and battered us with high winds, blinding rain, nonstop lightening and hail for a couple of hours. At one point everything seemed to slow down and there was the sound of constant rolling thunder that went on and on. We have since been told that that is the sound of a tornado. Thank you, the next time I hear that I want the sound in digital from a very good speaker, but not live in person. By the time we began our breakfast the sky was clear and the fields were glistening with water in the sunlight. The Corins were ready to roll but had to listen to the endless screeching of an alarm triggered by a hydraulic problem with their leveling jacks, the jacks were properly stowed for travel but the sensor didn’t believe it. They rerouted to a dealership to get it fixed before entering the fairgrounds. Although we agreed to ask the parking crew to hold a space for them next to us, we both knew that it was unlikely they would do such a thing, the rules specifically says they may not. In the event, the way we are stacked there is no way for an interior coach to move in or out without moving several others to make room.
And here we are at the FMCA Convention in St Paul. Carol and I have already put in half our volunteer hours and by 1 PM Sunday we will have completed our task which is stand at the road side on a major route into the fairground with a big sign to welcome the arriving coaches. It seems like a small thing, but the arriving coaches sound their horns when they see us and the occupants smile and wave. It’s nice to make people smile and feel happy so the mechanical job that could be done with a sign board is much better done by a “late middle aged” couple who are part of the club.
