Sunday, January 25, 2009

Snow, Snow and More Snow, But We're Leaving Anyway

We woke up to about 1/2 inch of snow at the Beever farm, with more snow falling. But we will not be deterred from heading off to warmer weather. :) We left the Beever house about 8:30am with the trunk of the car packed full of all the things we had taken into the house. The roads were snow-packed, but traffic was very light. Another reason for traveling on Sunday.

Upon arrival in Rochester, we carried everything from the car into the motorhome and covered the bed with it. The outdoor temperature was only 26, so we didn't put the slides out so we could get around the bed to put clothes away. Just didn't want to put any strain on the cold hydralic system. But the bed is literally covered. Since Dan had already loaded the motorcycle on the truck, he just had to add the bikes to the truck and then we could hitch up. No problems with that, so we were able to leave Rochester at 11:00am. The roads were pretty snow covered until we reached Vandalia. That seemed to be the southern edge of the snow storm that passed through last night.

Stopped in Ramsey, Illinois at the Ramsy Cafe for lunch. That's become a regular stop for good homecooked food. The temperature hovered around 28 all day, which meant we started the generator so we could run the furnaces. The dash heater just can't provide enough heat in very cold weather. Decided to stop at Paducah, Ky for the night. We don't like stopping after dark and driving on the snowy roads does take its toll. Went to Cracker Barrel for supper and picked up a couple of things at Walmart, then watched some TV before bedtime.

Will head on south tomorrow toward Bushnell, Florida. Dan's brother, Larry and Phyllis, are on their way to Bushnell, and his other brother, Dave and Nigel, are on the way to St. Augustine. We'll stay somewhere south of Atlanta tomorrow night. Checked the weather for Bushnell, FL and it should be in the 70's for the next few days. WOW!!! From snow to 70 degrees in 3 days.

So until next time......

Friday, January 23, 2009

Almost Ready to Go South! YEAH!!!

Plans are to leave Sunday for warmer weather.

We spent Thursday in Rochester doing some maintanence on the motorhome, and getting haircuts. We took some of the stuff we've accumulated here at the Beever's back to the motorhome. Still have to take our clothes and a few personal items on Sunday morning. Didn't realize how much stuff we had brought into the house until I started gathering it all up.

Dan had a loading ramp installed in the bed of the pickup truck to load the motorcycle, but was having some issues with the battery and getting it to work correctly. So he went back today and the good guys at Trailer Masters were able to get things in proper working order and even threw in some free parts. Dan has always had a lot of confidence in their work and they sure came through again. And the local propane dealer came to the motorhome and filled the propane tank. We'll fill the water tank about 1/2 full Sunday morning, just so we have some water on board. Don't want to run the risk of freezing before we get out of Illinois.

Plan to stop at Walmart or Sam's Club at Clarksville, TN (near Fort Campbell) Sunday night, then try to get to southern Georgia on Monday. I'm looking forward to staying about a week in one place, just to unwind and get the motorhome all cleaned up on the inside. It was washed when Dan had the oil changed a couple of weeks ago, but the inside is really a mess. What with being on the farm and the wind, the inside is really dusty and then we moved it back to Rochester. Even if it had been here at the Beever's, it's been to cold and messy to leave the slides out to clean.

Dan's brothers are headed to Florida, so we'll meet up with them sometime in the next few weeks. And we'll be going to the Daytona 500!!! YEAH, first Nascar race this year.

I'm sure there'll be some tears when we leave here, but it's time to get back on the road and resume this lifestyle. Changing backyards, open sky, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, meeting new people, visiting new places and just enjoying each new day.

See you down the road

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Bad Blogger

Jo Wishnie started one of her recent posts this way - "Bad Blogger, Bad, Bad Blogger". I should title this one - "BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD Blogger". But there really hasn't been much to post about; just a flat tire on the feed grinder (2 times)and discovered right at feeding time; diesel engines (without block heaters) that won't start in the below zero weather; cattle that need to be fed and watered daily especially in the below zero weather; frozen water lines to the washer; slippery roads; hay to be hauled over the slippery roads; blood samples that need to be processed in the lab; anxious cattle owners awaiting lab results from the aforementioned lab; etc.

BUT, Stephanie and I were just talking today about all the things we've accomplished in the 3 1/2 months we've been here and the list is much longer than the above mentioned problems. AND, even though we had planned to stay in the motorhome the whole time we were here, but had to move into Zachary's bedroom, THANKS, Zach, we have enjoyed our stay here in the country. Albeit, Dan left the farm at age 17 and vowed to never move back to a farm, he has adapted very well to his miscellaneous farm chores. And since he likes driving big trucks, I think even he would say he's become quite accomplished at driving Jon's new truck and hauling 12 BIG round bales of hay on the hay wagon. Should have taken a picture, but just never had the camera ready when he pulled in the driveway. And he was very mission oriented to get the hay unloaded and go back for the next load, so I missed the pictures.

Jon's lab office is completely moved to the new office in the basement and we have helped streamline the office work for his lab. We've all settled in to a routine and really don't get in each other's way very much. We've been chauffeur for Erin to after school events; spent some quality time with Taylor (he and Grandpa enjoy watching car shows on TV and discussing all the pros and cons of various engines and perfomance specs) and enjoyed being with Zach when he's been home from the University of Illinois.

This next week will be really busy as I finish setting up some things in the office and make sure Ashleigh is comfortable with all the changes.

The big challenge will be finding all the things we've brought into the house. We've tried to keep them in the bedroom or on the dining room table, but I'm sure there will be something to retrieve when we return in May for Taylor's high school graduation.

And I've really enjoyed spending Sunday afternoons with Stephanie and Erin at their riding lessons. I've always loved horses and really wanted one as a child. I wouldn't want to work as a stable hand, but I've sure enjoyed wiping down and brushing horses. Soooo, I would like to end this post with a video of Stephanie riding Thor and Erin riding Lady; but have had a TERRIBLE time uploading videos to blogger. Guess I'd better review the tutorial at http://www.geeksontour.com/ again. Will try to upload video tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing some of you down the road
More later........