Home sweet home

Old glory standing straight out

Exactly 100 days after we left Michigan we returned. Today's travel was uneventful and we got home in time to have Joan stop and renew her driver's license which expired while we were in Tucson.

On the way from Iowa City to North Aurora, Illinois we encountered some of the stiffest winds of our trip.

It was one of those days I was very glad that the trailer was back in Flagstaff and not behind my car.

It seems we missed a lot of the recent bad weather as most of the foul weather seems to be about one day ahead of us. The wind is doable without the trailer attached, but I felt sorry for those folks we saw pulling fifth wheels and trailers on Wednesday.

Whee! We're in Illinois

We spent two wonderful days with my sister Laura and her husband Philip in North Aurora, Illinois. Always the best hosts, my sister whipped up a wonderful spaghetti dinner (my favorite meal) and invited Doug and Deb for dinner and we had a wonderful time Wednesday night.

On Thursday, my sister took a day off from work and she and I went for a brisk walk in the morning while Joan got ready and we had fun catching up. After the walk we headed to the local Costco store. Why? Because it is there and we don't have one at home.

Besides Costco has the best free samples and I enjoyed all of them during our visit there.

Joan, Laura and Philip

In the afternoon we headed to a local car wash so I could clean about 10,000 bugs off the Tahoe and then we all went to the movies to watch "Monuments Men." The movie was pretty good and we had a great time and free popcorn refills, so what's better than that.

In the evening we went to a nice restaurant - Stockholms - in Geneva (Geneva, Illinois, of course) and then headed back with an extra plate of food for Philip who was working late in Chicago.

Back at the house Philip and I started planning our September backpack trip in Wisconsin and then we turned in to get a good night's sleep before we headed home to Michigan on Friday.

Me, Laura and Philip

My sister suggested a new route from her house to I-80 and it was really quick and knocked at least a half hour off our trip.

Before we even drove home we stopped at the local Secretary of State's office so Joan could verify for them that she could still see well enough to drive and a quick eye test and a $25 check and she was approved for another few years of driving in Michigan.

Back home we found the house in good shape, except for the back hoe damage in the front yard from the broken well pipe while we were gone, but all in all we found the old place in good shape. Thank you, Elin.

Whee! We're in Indiana (Trust me on the sign)

I went and picked up a couple cheap pizzas for dinner and then I headed back out to attend the funeral visitation for my friend and former work colleague, Angelia Lewis. Sad news, but I got a chance to talk to all her children and tell them just what a great woman their mother was.

Be good to each other, life is short.

Usually this would be my last post for awhile, but I'm working on a Top 10 (it may actually be longer, we'll see) of things that any newbie RVer should consider before investing in a vehicle.

Tune in over the weekend and you may see the list pretty soon.

Whee! We're back in Michigan

Time out: 7:46 a.m. (CDT)

Mileage out: 78808

Time in: 2:30 p.m. (EDT)

Mileage in: 79148

In case you have forgotten our trip started back on January 8, with a mileage of 66995 - a total trip mileage of 12,153