Corn Therapy

Photo taken with iPhone 8 Plus in Portrait mode.

Terri and I were tent campers until last year. We bought a trailer and got away in it when we could.

Then we found a very nice family-run campground less than an hour from home that is on the Kankakee River and behind a farm. It's a beautiful piece of property and the regulars are a good group. We thought we'd leave the camper there for a month this summer and, after two weeks, decided we would become seasonal regulars too.

We go there quite often. The peaceful drive is through flat Illinois farm country. And the campground itself is sealed off from the main road noise by a good-sized field of corn. In fact, the entry drive is a corn tunnel this year-- with both east and west fields growing corn. Next year, soybeans again.

While there, we often walk. The walk through that corn tunnel can be very hot in July and August. But Monday night it was cool as summer gives way to fall and the vibrant green cornstalks turn brown and loosen their grip on the field corn within. It won't be long until the fields are fully harvested and await winter. That will be a melancholy day. But that's kind of what I like about autumn. It's a time to reflect-- enjoy what just happened and look forward to what's ahead. It truly is therapy.

Things I Know About Cooking Bacon

When cooking on a stovetop or electric skillet

1. Allow one hour per pound of bacon for post-cooking clean up and de-greasing of the 15 foot radius around the skillet.

2. Allow four days per pound for the smell to leave the house.

When cooking on a cookie sheet on a grill

3. Ten minutes for the first side seems good.

4. The proper length of time for the second side is indeterminable.

5. Three minutes for the second side is not long enough. 

6. Cook for four minutes on the second side and you will have perfectly crispy strips of carbon. 

7. Carbon-bacon still tastes like bacon.

General bacon-cooking facts

8.The less-expensive bacon from the butcher section behaves exactly the same as the brands in the yellow and red paper sealed in non-removable plastic. It also tastes the same.

9. It is impossible to cook bacon and not eat at least one “serving” of bacon. This, I suspect, applies even to vegetarians. (But not vegans.)

10. Cook bacon in bulk and store in the refrigerator, then microwave when needed.

11. When you spend a full Saturday cooking a large quantity of bacon for the fridge on an electric skillet in the garage with the overhead door open so you don’t “stink up” the garage and house, the neighbors look at you funny.

Or maybe that was just because of the floral apron.

Pin Oak Lake

This was the view from Picnic Area 1 in Pin Oak Lake Recreation Area. We were camping in Natchez Trace State Park near Lexington, Tennessee. We took a 1 1/2 mile trail through the pine forest and then returned the same way. It was a gorgeous spring day yet we had the whole place to ourselves!

Pin Oak Lake is roughly three miles long and has many miles of shoreline due to its irregular shape. It is a result of construction of the Pin Oak Dam which was completed in 1964. It is one of eight dams on the Beech River and its tributaries.

Natalia

This is our youngest grandchild. She has her father's eyes, her mother's mouth, and a personality that is as sweet as both parents.

She is also bi-lingual. She spends most days with her grandmother ("Tita") who speaks mostly Spanish.

Her quiet and observant ways remind me of her father when he was very young-- just studying, learning, taking it all in.

I'm really looking forward to getting to know her!

Pure Happiness

I love this photo. Terri posted it on Facebook with the heading "Pure Happiness" and I agree.

After dinner, Noah ended up on Terri's lap and Benjamin was hanging on her right shoulder. They were looking at a video that had Noah's face on a cartoon monkey that was jumping around. Noah and Terri were giggling and Benjamin threw his head back in complete laughter at one point.

Fun times hanging out at the table.

It's Time

Trump can add the United States of America to his list of business failures because he broke it. The sign now says “Sorry, We’re Closed” entirely because of his incompetence and his ego. He campaigned on the promise of running our country like a businessman, not a politician. But he’s a bad businessman with a long trail of failures: vodka, steaks, airlines, even casinos—where it’s rigged that the house wins! Face it, he is not good at business.

And he doesn’t even do anything! White House insiders talk about how little time he spends working, that most of the time he is watching TV. To be honest, that is what a guy like him should be doing. He’s past retirement age and just bumbles everything he gets involved in. He often appears confused and disoriented. It’s time to just let him sit in his chair with the remote, eat junk food, and yell at the TV. But, just like the grandpas that can no longer drive and have their keys taken away, he should not be allowed to sign things and hold them up in front of cameras and real working people. It’s time to take away his pen and Twitter account.

The man is a gangster and the figurehead of a gang that is fleecing our country and the world. And when someone gets caught Trump throws him under the bus so fast, you’d think he really believed that he “never knew him” or “I’ve heard of him but never spoken with him.” Now Michael Cohen has decided to tell the truth and Trump does what gangsters do: label him a “rat”, discredit his character and knowledge, and, when all that fails, threatens his family. He is a thug.

I won’t even go into his support for racists and misogynists and his hatred for non-WASP people, but instead suffice to say that this guy needs to go. He does not deserve the support of any honest American and his ignorance and bad behavior are dangerous to our country and the entire planet.

I wish he would resign, but I don’t think he will. So, please GOP, understand that it is up to you. If the Dems start impeachment proceedings, it will be uglier than if the GOP does. We need the House Republicans to do the right thing for the people of America and start impeachment proceedings. The Republic is at stake.

Harvest Time

An Illinois cornfield just after the harvest.

Camping at Sullivan Marina and Campground

Our little home away from home, parked on site A22 for the weekend.

Terri and I spent a gorgeous weekend at a campground on Lake Shelbyville in central Illinois. Kayleigh's (Jake's girlfriend) family has an amazing camper parked there full time and hosted us for the weekend. Our campsite was quiet and roomy. Backing in our little trailer and setting up camp went very smoothly. The campground is on a bluff overlooking Lake Shelbyville and we could see it just through the trees behind the camper.

The weather was clear all weekend with only a crescent moon so we were able to see plenty of stars both nights.

Mom, son, and one of the dogs enjoying the day from the back of the boat.

On Saturday, we were treated to a day on the lake. The sky was blue and the water was refreshing.

We tied off with another boat in the Findlay Marina cove. It was peaceful and we even saw a bald eagle soaring above us.

Mostly we just floated on our pool noodles and talked about everything and nothing.

A suprise visit from an Apache helicopter as we were heading home.

As we were heading back to the dock after a full afternoon with new friends, we were buzzed by an Apache helicopter. The pilot got close enough that we could see him! Then he crossed in front of us and took off. It was quite an exciting end to our day on the water.

Once back on land, our host and boat captain, Jim, made a delicious shrimp and pasta dinner on his new Blackstone griddle.

After all that sun and a great meal I could barely keep my eyes open. I set a goal to stay awake until eight. I made it-- even got a second wind back at the camper and played a game of backgammon before heading off to dreamland around ten.

All in all, a great weekend.

Just like the brochures

Have you noticed that ads for RVs all show a solitary trailer on the edge of a lake with majestic mountains in the background? The reality in most campgrounds is a very different scene. In fact, many are so crowded that they look more like parking lots than campsites.

Well, we were lucky to find this campground. Though it looks like we are boondocking, we are actually connected to 30 amp electrical service and water! It was a relaxing and quiet weekend just sitting back and watching the redheaded woodpeckers zip around.

Yes, we will go there again.

RV-ing

And so we have entered the world of “RV-ing.” 

New truck, new (used) trailer. Having never towed before I was a little nervous. Terri was even more nervous than I was. I told her the only thing I was nervous about was that I wasn’t really that nervous. Everyone had told me that with the truck we had and the anti-sway bars, we wouldn’t even know the trailer was behind us. That helped a lot.

We made it out of the parking lot and onto the interstate just fine. But I WAS noticing the trailer behind us. It was not the perfectly smooth ride I was expecting. There was a weird hesitation every so often. We couldn’t tell what it was from; Terri thought it was just us feeling the trailer go over bumps after we had felt it in the truck. I thought it was a more pronounced feeling of the slight “herky-jerkiness” I felt driving the truck to work when it was cold. Then it happened.

BAM! It felt and sounded like we hit a deep pothole as we were cruising along at 65 MPH. But there was no pothole. And then I noticed the little orange wrench light on my dash that had the message “See service manual.” So Terri grabbed the owner’s manual from the glove box and began looking for the service manual section or any explanation of the orange wrench. Nothing. 

Next she grabbed the iPad and started searching for info. Again, nothing. She found a forum and read of some other similar experiences. Then the truck started losing speed. I thought maybe the cruise control went out, so I pushed on the accelerator and the RPMs went up, but no increase in speed. It was as if we were in neutral.

I signaled and pulled onto the shoulder. Terri had read that someone suggested turning off the truck and restarting it. We did and we were able to drive again. Whew! I did not want to be stuck on the side of the interstate with our trailer. We had a long way to go to get to our destination and were only 50 miles in. We wondered if we should keep going. We decided we would continue and see what happens. About 30 miles later it happened again. I asked her to find the nearest Ford dealership. She did and we got off at the next exit and drove about 20 miles to get there only to find out that the service department had gone home for the day..

The way I plopped in the chair across from her, I think, conveyed my frustration or disappointment or exhaustion or despair or all of the above to the very kind sales lady. We scheduled a Monday morning service appointment and she told us about a state park not far away where we could camp. And she gave us her cell number and told us to call if we got stuck and she would come get us. Wow! If you need a car and live anywhere near Glasgow, Kentucky, go see April Ponder at Gillie Hyde Auto Group!

So we called ahead to to the park and were told there were plenty of sites available. We entered the park and somehow drove right past the big brown sign with big yellow letters that said CAMPING AREA  and ended up at the marina. I could not enter through the entrance because a semi had it blocked. So I went in the next opening and drove to see if I could find a spot where I could turn around and exit. I was able to maneuver between two trucks with empty boat trailers and got out of the parking lot. 

We found the campground and talked to two very nice ladies, Ginny and Kathy. We explained what we had been through and they gave us a map showing the site layout and were even kind enough to x-out those that were taken. They said to go ahead and find one we liked and come back and pay later. Or pay tomorrow. We saw many available sites, and settled on the one we liked best. It only took between two and seven tries, but I got the trailer situated where we (Terri) wanted it. Then we realized our water hose would not reach to the water supply. Abort. We did not know exactly what we were going to do but we knew we needed firewood and the office was about to close. 

We drove back to the camp office to get firewood and Terri described our water supply predicament to Ginny who eagerly offered us a site in the overflow area. She took Terri for a ride in the golf cart to be sure it was something we would like. It was amazing! There was a huge open field and two sites with water and electric boxes. We drove out there, unhitched, leveled the camper, and went to hook up the power and— not a 30 amp connection, only 110 volt household receptacles. Oh, no! is kind of what I said.

Before moving to the other site, I walked over and checked the box. Yes, there was a 30 amp connection. So, after somewhere between two and 11 attempts, I got the trailer back on the hitch and moved it to the other site. We got leveled, unpacked, set up our new summer home, and started a nice fire.

As we did on our maiden tent voyage, we enjoyed the simplest of camper meals: hot dogs and baked beans. Though I must confess, we cooked the beans in the microwave this time!

Ah, the RV lifestyle. 

By the way, the truck repair was done in a day. It turns out a transmission wiring harness was not clipped into the frame properly at the factory and was resting on the exhaust system. When it got hot, it melted the insulation around 19 wires. Gillie Hyde Ford took good care of us that day!