Meeting up with Full Time RVer friends

Many years ago, about 4 or 5 or 6???  I stumbled upon a website community called RV Dreams started by Linda and Howard Payne. It was chock full of great information about living in an RV, full time or part time, and how to go about setting up your rig, getting solar, good resources for insurance, operational expenses and ideas.

Well, on that page is a link to a little Java chat room.  So I clicked on and went into chat.  The first person I met was Dee Walters.  She made me feel welcome and asked a bunch of questions to find out what and where we were at in our RV ing life.  She introduced to me to each "regular" chatter as they logged into the room.  She was the "Hostess with the Mostest" of the chat room!

People were funny and helpful and informative.  It was like sitting around a campfire and people were pulling up with their lawn chairs to set a bit and chat.  Some came in, some went out.... but Dee stayed till the end (about 11 p.m.) and warmly invited me back.  That is how our friendship started!

She and her husband were downsizing and selling stuff and ready to move into a small apartment until their retirement dates.  As the years rolled by, Dee and Jim found the right fifth wheel, the right truck, the right gear and moved on into Full Time RV Living.  Yes, they were living their RV Dream!
We all felt the excitement they expressed in each chat discussion, each email, each photo shared.  They started travelling and retired from their jobs and shared adventures via the blog called http://tumbleweed-jimdee.blogspot.com/    We have shared family and friends and dreams and RV catastrophes.  And of course, all of these years, she has been the Hostess with the Mostest in the RV Dreams chat room.

In July 2011, they were travelling through Wisconsin~!   We made arrangements to meet up and have them "mooch dock" in our driveway.  That means "boodocking" in a friend's driveway instead of going to an RV park or campground.  It's a fun way to share time together and perhaps get some reparis, rig washing and relaxing in our peaceful countryside of Wisconsin.

The blog posts from their 2011 visit start on this link: Visit with Jim and Dee  and go on for five blog posts after that.  Just click on the link on the bottom of each page for the next blog in that series.

Since we had limited 5GB internet for a long time, I have not been able to spend much time in the chat room anymore, but I have keep current with blogs and emails and pics on facebook.  We just recently got unlimited internet access at our home with Frontier.net so I can start going back now!


As for Jim and Dee......   They just completed travelling to all 48 states in the US and were heading back through the midwest on their way to Illinois to visit their children and grandchildren.  We made arrangements to meet up with them on Saturday at the State Fair Park campgrounds in Milwaukee.  It's about a 90 mile drive for us, and we found them easily in their Carriage Cameo fifth wheel.  I forget how long it is, but it's a big one!

They happened to be parked next door to a Safari motorhome,

so Steve and Jim jawjacked with that guy for a while. 

Dee and I hugged and started chattering at 11 a.m.  

(We didn't stop again until it was time to go 6 hours later!) 

Dee hauled out crocheting and we gabbed fibers, patterns, and RVing stuff.  Ya know, places they been, things they modified on their rig, repairs and adventures.  This crochet pattern is called C to C.... Corner to Corner.  Neato!   She finished one afghan in colorful stripes, and is now working on a shawl with delicate yarns and showed me how the stitches go.  She found it on Pinterest and found how to's on Utube.

The guys, of course, had to solve all the World's Problems and chattered away about people, places and things.  We let them gab while we were busy doing our own gabbing! They had their fireplace going in their fifthwheel and it was comfy and cozy on this very cool snap of weather we have been having in Wisconsin. We felt so welcome in their travelling home. It was like we picked up where we left off 3 years ago during their last visit.  LOL

Noontime Hunger was eminent, 

and of course the favorite thing RVers like to do is to EAT! 

and blog about it...  hahahahhaha

here is their website:

http://doublebs.com/

Jim had already scoped out a good restaurant nearby called Double BB's BBQ.  Sounded good to us! 

We got the nice waiter to oblige and take our photo together.  How cute.  I see so many blogs of RVers who always have their pictures taken in restaurants as they meet and greet out on the road.

So bloggers... here is ours!

The food came and was delicious!  Jim had kielbasa sausages (a Polish Treat)  and both Steve and Dee had pulled pork sandwiches.  I opted for a half rack of ribs.... and took the rest home with me.  Of course, here is a Foodie Pic:

The bar/restaurant also had an open air patio section out back, so the doorway was wide open.  This pestering little wasp would not leave us alone!  Finally Jim trapped him in the empty sweet tea glass and gave him to the waiter-----   (the waiter kindly took the bee out back and let him free...awww)

We went back to their RV for an afternoon of chit chat and the guys watched some car racing on tv.  It was stereo surround sound effect because nearby at the Milwaukee Mile raceway had cars running and we could hear the sounds coming in the open windows!   Being race fans, Jim and Dee enjoyed being so close to a race track!

Also I snapped a pic of their satellite dish setup.  How ingenious to have it weighted down by a disk from weightlifting barbells.  So visit a thrift shop, rummage sale or used sale at a fitness center for a disk to keep yours weighted down too.  Easily portable and less messy than sand bags!

Too soon it was time for us to go.... Jim had tickets to go to the Milwaukee Brewer's baseball game right next door.  We had to head on back because our dogs were waiting patiently for us at home.  

Taking our photos of each other seemed like a good thing to do too...

We hugged and said our "See Ya Laters"  (never goodbyes)  and heading out of the campground. 

On our way home, we slipped into Trader Joes and stocked up on a couple cases of Two Buck Chuck (Charles Shaw wine) and an armful of jars of Cookie Butter.  If you haven't tried this, please give it a try.  It's VERY addicting and thanks to Al from http://thebayfieldbunch.com/ , I am now addicted too. 

We made it home, clear sailing, and the dogs were just fine.  But they missed us.  

Now it was time for US to pack up our motorhome... we are heading out camping on Sunday!!!!

We WERE supposed to camp Mon-Thur at High Cliff with RVing friends Karen and Herb Sweet.. but due to engine troubles on their Safari motorhome, they are not able to make their reservations.  Sigh.  Was looking forward to seeing them.  

Well, they cancelled their reservations at the park, and right in behind them logged our other RVing friends Mel and Paula!  They were able to reserve the same site that Karen and Herb released ... so we are still going camping and still going to have a Safari motorhome as a neighbor. 

So we loaded up last night... and now taking a run over to Waupaca for breakfast with Pa Pfundtner this morning.  When we get back, we are heading out RVing ourselves.  Should be fun! 

Finishing up visit with Jim and Dee - Allegra comes for a Bay-Kay-Shun!

Ohhh I am behind on posting again.  Sorry!  

We have been quite busy around here. Our visiting RV friends Jim and Dee got in a trip to Green Bay on Wednesday to do some touring, while I stayed home (a bit under the weather)   They managed to tour the Packer Stadium, do some shopping and picked up parts for the RV toilet in their rig which was leaking.

The weather has been atrocious and the heat and humidity just won't quit!   Steve got home from work on Wednesday and was able to help to remove their toilet and find out what parts needed replacement.  It was easier to work on the whole toilet outside, but the heat was awful.  It was not too hard of a fix, and they had it back in, toot sweet and working again.  Wheeeeeee

It was so horribly hot that I decided I could cook pizza in the oven in the house...  it didn't matter!  Then we took the pizza out to the waiting Walter's RV as a delivery!  We sat in the cool interior of their rig to eat supper and enjoy the evening with them.

On Thursday, those two busy beavers were back at the maintenance on their rig.  Besides washing all the windows, they also lubed their slides and seal, and did some rubbing compound on some scratches from the tree when they were backing into our yard.. ouch!~  But the scratches came out and now the rig looks sparkling spanking new!   

Thursday was an extra special busy day for us too, because our granddaughter, little Allegra came for a five day "bay-kay-shun" with us!  Her mommy and daddy go for an all adult camping weekend each year, and we are the lucky ones to get to keep her for all five days! 

She kept us entertained with her antics....  

We took a walk down by the river, and I think is a wonderful shot of Dee....

Thursday night was also a big night for Steveio... some of you RVers might remember a while back that Steveio bought a marine grade Jabsco mascerator for the motorhome. 

 (A mascerator is a machine that grinds up your poopy water from the black holding tank and pumps it out in a long skinny hose, even uphill, to dump at far away locations like our septic tank, and then you can follow up with the grey water from the sinks and shower to rinse out the hose somewhat) 

Soooo we have not used it yet.  But since Dee and Jim were leaving in the morning, it was a perfect time to dump out their tanks and put our mascerator to use!   Our septic opening is about 100 feet away from the RV's parked in the driveway.  They got it all hooked up, and were three feet short of hose!  But Jim to the rescue had an extra section to add to the group.  Of course, once this hose is used for mascerating, you never ever use it again for lawns or filling fresh water tank.  

Maiden run on the machine, hoses and hookups...... 

Flip the switch, pull the lever, and voila... it worked! 

 (ignore the green hose in the photo.. that was just lying there...)

The "stuff" from the tank comes down the big tube near the top of the photo, then through the machine, and then out the side on the right through the thinner black hose and down across the yard to the septic tank opening.   There.. done!

A mascerator is great for many situations, besides saving on dump station fees:
Like sitting in someone's driveway it can dump your tanks into a septic or even a toilet. (seen that)
Or if you are at a dumb designed dump station that is too slanted to dump properly by gravity. (seen that)
Or if you are at a campsite with sewer available but the dumb pipe is a foot off the ground (seen that)
Or if you are at a curved road dump station and no way to line up 40 foot rig at their hole (seen that)

I am glad that Steveio's new toy works well for him, and he and Jim both seemed pleased to have clean tanks!

Thursday night was our last night together with a meal out on the grills... they had done a run with Steve ot the little meat market down the road and stocked up on good home grown Wisconsin beef.  We spent the time relaxing with Jim and Dee for the evening.  Steve will be gone to work in the morning when they head out... so they said their good-byes on Thursday night.   He threatened to beep goodbye with the horn on the car as he leaves at 5:15 am while parked right in front of their bedroom, but he didn't.  LOL

On Friday morning, such veteran RVers like Jim and Dee had their rig ready to roll in just 15 minutes from start to finish.  Dee backs up the truck while Jim checks the hitch and raises the levelers.  All gear is stowed and compartments locked up.  They fired up the GPS and gave hugs all around .. through tears, little Allegra and I waved bye bye.   They are heading out to the Wisconsin Dells!

And therrrrrre they goooooooo!

COME BACK SOON! 

Later on Friday afternoon, Erin came over with our other granddaughter, Chelsea.  The girls had a play day together and sure had fun.  LOVE their little piggy tails. awwwwwwww  

We have suffered here with the formidable temps and humidity as is the rest of the country.  It is sooo unusual for us to have such a long stretch of horrid temps.  Finally tonight, Saturday, it has cooled down enough to have all the windows open, and sleep up in our loft bed again.   No complaints here!

Good night!


.

Visiting with our RV friends - Jim and Dee and the Tumbleweed

As with most of the country, we are sweltering away with high humidity and heat indexes over 100...WHEW! The Weatherman on tv just called it "Mega Muggy" ...ewwwwww

Am I the same person who was complaining back in the winter 

when it seemed like the snow and the cold would never end?

What was I thinking??????

Our friends Dee and Jim Walters are here for a nice visit in our driveway.  Besides visiting and touring the area, they are catching up on projects like repairs, cleaning and some vehicle maintenance too.  When you are a full time RVer like they are, it's hard to find places to hole up for a bit, get your mail delivered, find some good local repair places and take it easy.  We are so happy to get to visit with them, and offer a place to hang for a while.

You can follow their blog here:  http://tumbleweed-jimdee.blogspot.com/

Jim and Dee are hunkering down in the AC in their fifth wheel (called The Tumbleweed) out on the driveway gravel.  It's partially shaded from the garage on the back side a bit, but mostly a big white box out in the sunshine....  the AC unit is working morning noon and night to keep them comfortable.  We only have a 20 amp hookup for them, but as long as their fridge and water heater are on propane, there is enough amperage to run the AC and their TV, laptops and cell phone chargers.  They assured us they are doing fine, but I wish we had better weather to entertain them with!   This is soooo unusual for Wisconsin. 

On Sunday, the guys went out in the boat for a while on the river. Steve took Jim up a ways to where the Little River joins the Oconto River.  Jim snapped some great shots that capture the feeling of our little calm river that floats by our home....

Here they were winding their way among some of the little islands that dot our river... finding the cool spots in the shade as they puttered upstream in the boat.

Captain Steveio at the helm, unsticking them from rocks in some shallow water by using oars. Otherwise they had the small motor running to putter upstream and back down to our house again.  

(I painted the oars to match the seats... teehee)

 It was a lovely blue-sky day... but horribly hot and humid too!

 Jim was brave enough to hand his expensive camera over to Steveio to snap a shot!  It turned out pretty good, because Steveio usually wiggles or emphatically bobs the camera in the same movement of pushing down the shutter button.  Why?  I have no idea.  It's a motion saying something like: "There... Got It!"

While the guys were playing on the river, 

Dee and I were working on knitting hats with the KNifty KNitter hoops... 

I have no idea why we were working on heavy wool winter hats in the middle of a heat-wave?  Wishful thinking perhaps?  Dee caught on fast, and we were fibernating the morning while waiting for the sweaty soggy heat-soaked guys to come back off the river.

It kept getting hotter and hotter... so by afternoon we all holed up in our air conditioning and tried to stay cool.  We hung out down in the loom room where our one portable unit was (the rest of our house has no AC) ...  so they hauled in some lawn chairs and made themselves at home in the one cool room of the house.  I have NEVER had any non-weavers spend THAT MUCH TIME in my loom room before!  I tried to get them to weave a rug or two, but it was too hot.

I think the heat was getting to me... so we cancelled some evening dinner plans with our fellow RVing buddies Sharon and Fred.  It was just toooo hot to even think of grilling outside, or cooking inside.  We grabbed sub sandwiches from Subway and retired early to our beds, with the heat index wayyyy too high for any comfort.


So if you see some blobs on the sidewalk, holding a fishing pole or knitting needles, you will know it's either me or Steveio..   toss us in a freezer and see if we regenerate back into our old selves, please?

.

More Fun with Jim and Dee- and a STINKY BARN???

Ahhh we are having such a nice time with our RVing buddies, Jim and Dee from the blog

 http://tumbleweed-jimdee.blogspot.com/

They are full timing RV friends we met through Howard and Linda's http://www.rv-dreams.com/

They are parked here for a while in our driveway in their big fifth wheel RV.  We are sure enjoying their company and sharing of stories of places they been and places they are gonna go!   We are sure jealous.... 

She baked the most wonderful rhubarb strawberry pie for dessert...  wow it was perfect flaky crust and baked to perfection.  What a great treat... I think we will keep her here for a few months if she keeps this up!

Friday was a day to hang out at the house and get some cleaning done for Jim and Dee.    Jim got all the vehicles washed while Dee attacked the interior with polishing, cleaning, vaccing and going through cabinets and bins...   It's good to do this once a year, if you find things you haven't used in a whole year, it's time to toss em out!  We gotta do this to our rig again too. (note to self)

Saturday morning we headed out to Green Bay to get a few things from the local RV store, Van Boxtel RV  http://www.vanboxtelrv.com/   We had fun roaming up and down the aisles, drooling over the newest-latest-greatest RVing toys and accessories.  Jim and Dee bought a few things to add to their rig.  One was an extra door handle for their inside of the screen door.  This makes it easier to close from the inside.

After we all dozed off for some little afternoon shut-eye, we old folks decided to get up and out and go for dinner.  The heat and humidity are climbing to heights that just make cooking a chore.  So Dee and Jim decided they need to take us out for dinner as a treat for staying in our yard.  We didn't think they needed to do that, but they insisted.    We drove them around a bit to see a few of the sights... and then whisked them off to a special place.  You know, Dee LOVES barns.. and snaps pics of them even while driving down the road.

Soooo what better place to take them than THIS????  

We are going to eat in a barn?????

YES.. it's a RESTAURANT AND TAVERN IN A BARN!!!!  

The Barn Tavern in Lena, WI FACEBOOK PAGE

The slogan of the place is:   

"COME, SIT, RELAX AND DRINK

WHERE THE COWS USED TO STINK!" 

When you come through the doors, you go down into the lower portion of the barn.. right where the cows were milked and fed and yes... pooped!   (it don't stink any more)  We bellied up to the bar and had a drink.  Both Steve and Dee had a special beer from a local micro-brewery called...  what else?  SPOTTED COW!    Not kidding.. yes, there REALLY is a beer named that!

 New Glarus Brewing Company - Spotted Cow Beer

The decor was definitely "bovine" in theme....

The food was good down-home cooking....  we splurged on broasted chicken 

even through Steveio watches his cholesterol, Jim had a steak and Dee had shrimp.  

Homemade rolls, salads and soup accompanied the meals and was quite tasty.   

We were soooo full! 

 Ahhhh what a fitting end to a lovely day in rural Wisconsin!