Just Connecting Words: ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Just Connecting Words: ON THE ROAD AGAIN: As promised I will start blogging again now that we are finally on our maiden voyage with our new Jayco RB Jay Flight travel traile...

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

As promised I will start blogging again now that we are finally on our maiden voyage with our new Jayco RB Jay Flight travel trailer. Lauralyn started camping as a child with her parents and our first vacation, after coming home from Japan, June or July 1971, was camping with her parents and sisters. I loved it immediately. The next summer we had our own tent and we would camp as a family for the next 18 years. We progressed from the tent to a tent camper and then to a 27 foot Mallard travel trailer for the last 10 years that we camped.

In October 1989 Lauralyn’s parents bought a cottage near Minocqua, WI. where we spent the next 20 years. Her Dad sold the cottage in 2009 so we had to decide what we wanted to do next to enjoy being out in the woods and traveling. We spent about two years looking at motor homes and then truck campers before looking at travel trailers. We discovered that they were now making some that were light weight and with everything we wanted in them. After only one day and one night in it we already know this is the perfect trailer for us.

The trailer is only 19.5 feet long, 8 feet high and 7 ½ feet wide, not much wider than a car and lower than most trailers which sure helps with gas mileage. It’s basically made for just two people and maybe one grandchild at a time for a weekend. We’ll see. It has a queen size bed, kitchen with a table for two, a stove, refrigerator and microwave, full bath with a small tub and shower, digital radio, TV, air conditioner and awning. What more could you ask for? Lauralyn just wanted to be able to stand up in it and have a bathroom. We accomplished the goal.

So where did we begin this new journey? Two hours from home at Nelson Dewy State Park in Cassville, WI. on  the Mississippi.  It was a beautiful ride through many hills and valleys and proved that our tow vehicle can handle anything with this trailer. Pulling this trailer, just under 3,500 pounds, with our SUV looked good on paper but you never know until you give it the test and we passed that getting to this area of the state.

We arrived on Thursday May 29 at about 3:30pm and discovered, sight unseen, no pun intended, that we had picked a big, level perfect site for our trailer. Backed in on the first try because Lauralyn has not lost her touch for guiding as I back the trailer in. We also found, when we got out of the car, that the gnats were probably going to be a problem. By the time we got set up, and swatted a million gnats, the worst were behind the glasses, we decided to make dinner and call it an early night. We surprised that very few sites had campers in and thought it would fill up on Friday. Sure hope that gnats are gone tomorrow.

Woke up Friday to a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the 80’s and decided to drive about 25 miles north along the River Road to Wyalussing State Park. It was a very pretty ride through more hills and valleys with great views of the Mississippi. When we camp we like to check out campgrounds to see what they are like and jot down the best sites for our trailer on maps they have of the campground sites. The views of the river from the camp sites were unbelievable, but the majority of the sites were too small and too hilly for our trailer. There were some loops without views of the river that would be nice for our trailer, but we decided we would rather come back to Nelson Dewy where we are now camping. We did pick up fire wood at a small store at the entrance to Wyalussing State Park so Lauralyn to build fires in the evenings. One of the things she has always enjoyed. She hasn’t lost the title of fire bug either. She got the fire started with just one match. Don’t know what we’ll do tomorrow, but will decide when we get up depending on the weather.

On Saturday May 31^st we woke up to another nice day and decided to road trip 55 miles to Galena, IL and walk up and down the main street and go through all the stores. We had been there a couple of years ago with a group and really didn’t get to see as much as we wanted to see. Found a camping cook book that has recipes and directions for one aluminum foil package which sure makes for easy clean up. Might even use these at home. As they say half the fun is in the journey and we took back roads to get there and really enjoyed the scenery and waves from all the people along the way. Stopped in a little Galena bakery for tomorrow’s breakfast. We did find a fragrance shop that mixed us a magic potion of mainly vanilla to stop those annoying gnats. Got back to the camp site and the stuff really worked. Best $5. I’ve spent in a long time.

Sunday June 1^st and it’s another perfect day. We decided to road trip about 40 miles to Dubuque[JK1] , IA. to visit the National Mississippi River Museum and aquarium. The museum was great and we were there from 10 am until about 4 pm. I’d recommend the Museum to anyone that gets to the part of Iowa. The aquarium was not really worth seeing and we only spent about half hour there. Stopped in one of the supper clubs in Cassville, two miles from the Nelson Dewy State Park, but it wasn’t as good as the write up in the town tourist brochure.

We knew it had rained a lot last night but were surprised when we heard on the radio that the rain fall measured 1.25 inches. Driving through Potosi the last couple of days we kept going right past the Potosi Brewing Co. and National Brewery Museum. This was our road trip for today, Monday, June 2^nd.  The charge was $3. and it was more than worth it because we each received a free beer at the end of the tour. We spent about four  hours there and enjoyed every minute of it. Never knew how many breweries were in Wisconsin starting in the 1800’s. This is another recommendation for anyone traveling in this area. Had lunch in their restaurant and that also was very good.  I recommend the beer cheese soup. How could you possibly go wrong with a combination of two of Wisconsin’s best products.  Can’t believe I’ve lived my entire life in Wisconsin and never had a Potosi Beer. I would recommend the “Good Old Potosi Beer”.

Woke up and it was Tuesday already and we had to leave for home because I had a VFW meeting the next day and a Mallard Baseball game the day after. We drove up to the picnic area where there was a beautiful overlook of the Mississippi River for one more look before we hooked up the trailer for the ride home. We both hated to leave and I’m sure we’ll be back.

Our shake down trip with our new trailer reassured us that we had made the right decision to go with a travel trailer and we only have to add a few things to make it home sweet home away from home.We’ll be on the road again June 21^st with five couples from church. Our destination this time will be Cliffside Park Campground in Racine County, WI, right on Lake Michigan for four days.

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 [JK1]is

Just Connecting Words: GO BREWERS!

Just Connecting Words: GO BREWERS!: I feel like spring is finally here because today is opening day in Milwaukee for the Milwaukee Brewers. I will be watching on TV, in the w...

GO BREWERS!

I feel like spring is finally here because today is opening day in Milwaukee for the Milwaukee Brewers. I will be watching on TV, in the warmth of my home, by choice, even though they now have an enclosed field and I know the roof will be closed so everyone can enjoy the game in relative comfort. Quite a change from the games I went to as a kid. The wind off of Lake Michigan, on opening day, could make it feel like the middle of winter.

The Milwaukee Braves came to Milwaukee in 1953 when I was six years old and I was lucky enough to have surrogate grandparents that had season tickets. I just wish I had the black jacket with the Indian Brave on the back and matching cap I wore as a small child. It would have been a great memory keepsake. The team was the Boston Braves from 1941 to 1952, prior to arriving in Milwaukee. They played at “County Stadium” in the same location that is now home to the Milwaukee Brewers. “Miller Park“, the current home of the Brewers, opened in 2001 and is one of the best in the nation.

As a kid growing up in Milwaukee I followed the Braves and collected Topps and Bazooka bubble gum cards. I can remember having some favorites; Lew Burdette, Ernie Johnson, Warren Spahn, Del Crandall, Joe Adcock, Johnny Logan, Eddie Mathews, Frank Torre, Andy Pafko and of course Hank Aaron. Great memories as a kid. Sure wish, as most guys do, that my parents had not thrown those cards out.

I thought it was ironic that on opening day, 2014, the Milwaukee Brewers were playing the Atlanta Braves because for those of you that are too young to remember or so old that you can’t remember, the Milwaukee Braves last season in Milwaukee was 1965. They then went to Atlanta and became the Atlanta Braves. As you can imagine they broke the hearts of many fans although attendance had been going down. At least that’s what we were told.

I remember, in the spring of 1965, as a senior in high school, taking advantage of something called “Senior Skip Day” and going to a Milwaukee Braves game with a group of my friends. Little did we know that it would probably be our last Milwaukee Braves game and one of the last times we would all spend time together, because graduation was only a couple of months away and we would drift apart. We still see each other occasionally, but it will never be the same. It’s wonderful to have those memories.

My day is complete. I got to watch the entire game without distraction or interruption and the Brewers won 2 - 0 on opening day, in Milwaukee, against the team that deserted me as a teenager in 1966. I know, get over it Jim. Still It doesn’t get much better than that unless you were there today or back in 1965 with friends.

Go Brewers!

The Green Twist Tie Cross

 

 

February 27 was the last Thursday of the month which meant that I would be pulling wagons full of food for our small town food pantry customers from 2:30 pm to 7pm. Our pantry has a dozen coaster wagons that we suggest people put their baskets or boxes in and pull around our u-shaped tables to pick out what ever they need depending upon their family size. Just some added information if you have never been to or worked at a food pantry. The storage facility is heated just enough so food doesn’t freeze so everyone dresses for the weather. We can only bring a dozen people in at one time because of the limited space so the door is constantly opening and closing. Cold in the winter and hot in the summer.

I was at breakfast with some of the guys from church that morning, as I am every Thursday morning, already complaining about the fact that I wasn’t real enthused about volunteering that afternoon and evening. That’s not like me because I usually can’t wait to go. The reason was that the wind chill was going to be -15 to -20 while we were pulling these wagons to peoples cars and helping them load their groceries into them. Yes, almost all my time there is spent outside. I had on long johns, a hooded sweatshirt, a full snow mobile suit, gloves and insulated boots so I was as prepared as I could be. By 6pm I was tired because the guy that usually pulls the wagons out with me couldn’t make it and there is no back up so I ended up doing the work of two and I was at that point as cold as I have been in a long time.

I was starting to ask myself why I keep doing this when some of the people that come arrive with cups of coffee from Starbucks and cars that are much nicer and newer than mine. Then I remind myself that the majority of people that use our food pantry really do need the help at this point in their lives. It had really slowed down about 6:15 pm but we said we would be open until 7 so we really couldn’t leave early. It was then that I pulled a wagon of food out for a mom and her daughters, probably 8 and 10. As I got done loading the food into the trunk the younger girl handed me a cross made of two green twist ties, the kind you get in the veggie section of the grocery store and said, “thank you for all this food.” Her mother looked at me and said, “she doesn’t give crosses to very many people”. I can tell you I was just about in tears and I realized exactly why I do this every month. Yes, that green twist tie cross will remain on my dresser for a long time to remind me how blessed I am to have all that I have. I am allowed to enjoy my blessings. But, I must remember that the main reason for which God has blessed me is so I may be a blessing 2 Corinthians 8-9:

If you can’t work at a food pantry please consider giving food or money so no one has to go to bed hungry at night. We’re a small town, but we usually serve somewhere between 150 to 200 people once a month. We started this past Thursday with only 20 quarts of milk and no bread. About half way through someone, came with a donation of more frozen chicken so we didn’t have to let anyone go home without some type of meat. Thanks for doing what ever you can do and sparing what ever you can spare to support your local food pantry.

　

Love and Blessings,

Just a guy trying to connect some words

On The Road Again

Winter is here and I’m starting to write again. Good idea or “oh no, not again”, depending upon who my readers are. “On The Road Again” is not about the Willie Nelson song, although it is one of my favorites, but rather about my wife Lauralyn, Lor for short and I getting back into camping. Our goal is to visit all the states we have not seen, about 35 and all of the National Parks.

My blog, http://justconnectingwords.blogspot.com will continue to be about this, that and the other things on my mind and of course now a diary of our travels so friends and family can keep up with us. This will give you a chance to make plans to be out of town before we show up pulling our new 20 foot travel trailer.

I have been waiting to win the lottery for years to be able to do some of the things that Lauralyn and I had dreamed of doing. I woke up one morning, realized I was almost 67 and that it was time to start doing those things with the resources we had right now.

Lor grew up camping and I was introduced to it in 1971, the summer after we returned from Japan, having just gotten out of the Navy. My first experience was going “Up North” in WI for a week with her parents, in a Star Craft pop up camper. I was so hooked on camping “Up North“ that by that next summer we had a tent and a whole bunch of camping gear. By the next summer we were also taking along a high chair, playpen and crib. Still don’t know how we managed to get all that in the car.

It was about 1976 that we bought our own pop up camper and I was getting two weeks of vacation which was always spent “Up North“ camping with her parents. If I remember correctly they went to a mini motor home on a Toyota truck chassis. I also had a 12 foot boat that went up on the camper with rollers. Gee, I had it made.

In 1984 we moved to Green Bay, WI and this would be the year we moved up to a new Chevy Suburban and a 26 foot dual axial Mallard travel trailer. It would be our home away from home with all the amenities you could ask for. We thought we were in camping heaven. My in-laws, who we still camped with moved up to a ¾ ton truck with a very large truck camper and now pulled a 14 foot boat that we shared when camping.

By this time I had enough years with AT&T that I had three to four weeks of vacation and we spent almost every weekend at state parks within an hour drive of our home and weeks of vacation “Up North” with Lor’s parents. We camped on weekends either in Door County, Hartman creek or Two Rivers, WI. Our week long vacations would be “Up North”, in either Oneida or Villas counties, once again state parks with some electric spots, but mainly pit outhouses. We really appreciated our Travel Trailer with it’s bathroom, especially at night when it’s as dark outside as it was in the middle of the night out at sea.

Our last and trip out of state with our trailer was when our daughter was about 15 and our son 11 years old. We had an inkling that this might be one of our last family vacations because the kids were getting into so much that they no longer wanted to go along. We decided on a two week “Circle Trip” around Lake Superior and it was one of the best vacations we ever had. We also had many wonderful and memorable weekend camping trips with friends that our kids and theirs still talk about, but that will be another story for another day. It was also about this time that Lor’s parents bought a cottage on a lake up near Minocqua, WI. We sold our travel trailer and enjoyed vacations with them.

When we retired we thought we would be moving “Up North” where we planned to live out our retirement. I have finally realized that my plan is not always what is best for me and what actually happens is God’s plan for me. Lor and I have been talking for years about seeing all 50 states and all of the National Parks in the continental United States. So far we have seen about 15 states together and two National Parks, so we have a bunch yet to see and feel some urgency to see them before we get too old to enjoy traveling.

We had been looking at Motor Homes and almost bought one a year ago but it was just a bigger investment than we wanted to make at this point in our lives. We then looked at truck campers but it would mean buying a ¾ ton pickup to put it on and pickup prices have gone up a lot since we had our last one almost 20 years ago. We finally decided to look at small travel trailers for just two people that we might be able to pull with our current, paid for SUV. Lor’s only requirements were that she could stand up in it to change clothes and it had a bathroom. We researched about 25 different manufacturers and actually went to see about six that looked interesting. We ended up falling in love with one at a dealer located about 2 miles from our home. The dealer got a good recommendation from some one at our church that bought a trailer there and from someone else that has their’s serviced and winterized at the same place.

We purchased our new 2^nd home away from home today and it will be delivered from the factory some time in March. We plan to revisit camping spots in Wisconsin that we enjoyed 30 to 40 years ago, visit old friends and attempt to get to all of the states and National Parks that we have not seen. We will not be on the road full time but I know that some of our travels will put us away from home for up to three weeks at a time.

For family and friends that have camped with us and are curious about what we’re getting you can look up the 2014 Jayco Jay Flight Swift SLX 195RB on line.

I’ve lived in Wisconsin my whole life, except for service time, so I know there is still a lot of winter to go before spring gets here and Lor is willing to go on our first trip. It’s well insulated and has a furnace, but I think she will hold me to waiting until May 1^st when we will be “on the road again.” Feel free to follow our travels and experiences by visiting my Blog.

I Still Think About You On Memorial Day Tim

Hey Tim! I know, especially on Memorial Day, your family and relatives that are still alive think about you, but I had to let you know that I do too. Did anyone ever thank you for your service to our country? I knew you from the track team and some classes that we took together in High School. We even had a class together our freshman year at UW-M and I picked you up once or twice when you needed a ride. Never got to know you well enough to know that your parents owned a restaurant in Glendale where we lived. Matter of fact I never got to go there until after I was out of service. It felt funny knowing your parents owned it. I never did work up the courage to talk to them after I got back. Something I probably should have done.

My parents received the Glendale Herald weekly and kept your obit for me, but they didn’t send it to me, probably not wanting to upset me by telling me that you were killed in Vietnam. For what ever reason I found out on a bus ride from Shu Linkou Air Base in Taiwan to downtown Taipei where I was assigned as a Navy CT. It was 4 pm or so in the afternoon and I had been doing some security training at the base and was thinking about where I’d get my first drink, where I’d have dinner that evening and who I go out with. I had picked up a Stars and Stripes Armed Forces newspaper and I was dozing as I read it on the Navy/Air Force bus. It was common for me to check the list of killed in Vietnam and that day was no different, except for the fact that I saw your name in the list. I think I stared at that list for the rest of the ride back to Taipei.

I knew a lot of guys were dying everyday in Nam, but I sure didn’t think any of the guys I went to High School would die over there. There were only about ten of us out of our 1965 graduating class of 250 that actually went into service. I joined the Navy so I wouldn’t end up in Vietnam, but then ended up getting credit for four tours over there anyway. I was one of the lucky ones. My ship, the U.S.S, Oklahoma City, got stuck on a sand bar and the Viet Cong picked up on that real quick. They fired at our ship for about 15 minutes, coming to within a football field, but they kept missing. Thanks to God and the Navy Air boys for saving us that time.

You and I must have enlisted up at the same time, right after we had our last exams for our freshman year of college. The last time I saw you was a sheer coincidence. We were taking our physicals for induction into service at the same time, in Milwaukee. Can that really be 47 years ago? That’s when I found out you were going into the Marines. It was a quick five minutes of small talk by two 19 year old acquaintances who were nervous, but didn’t want to show that in front of all the guys around us. We said we’d see each other at our five year reunion from High School. We were both going in for four years and would be out by then. We were 19, probably a little naive and little did we know at that time what the future would hold for us. We were just too young to think about the possibility of dying.

　

　

Tim, I may be the only one , but I hope not, of your High School class mates that still thinks about you and how much you could have accomplished and how much you missed. I never doubted that you would be a great Marine because you had the physical and mental strength to get through a really tough boot camp, you knew how to follow orders and you always did what you said you were going to do.

I looked up your name on the “Viet Nam Wall” in DC, when I was out there for some training with AT&T, after it first opened and cried not only when I saw your name, but also for all the men and women who died in that war that I now feel we should never had been in. I now do Funeral Honor Guard for our VFW in the county where I live. When I first got out I was proud of serving in the Navy, but most people had such a bad attitude about Nam Vets that I didn’t want to tell people I served at all. I feel very honored, at this point in my life, to be serving at these funerals to give these Vets one last “thank you” for their service and pray for their peace in Heaven.

I’ll think about you tomorrow as I put on my VFW uniform and participate in the Memorial Day ceremonies we do at seven different cemeteries. I wish I could have had the chance to shake your had and thank you for your service. You gave the ultimate sacrifice for you country and we do appreciate it and thank you for your service.

May You Rest In Peace