Quote of The Week:

"Retirement life is a game. Happy people are the players. Unhappy people are the spectators. Which would you like to be?
from Ernie Zelinski's How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free"

— Ernie J. Zelinski

We (Jenny, our daughter Lori, and I) were supposed to have dinner with my sister and brother-in-law last Friday, but thanks to some lovely Wisconsin weather (slush, freezing rain, ice), we had to postpone it until Sunday afternoon.

We went over after the Packers won - YES, THERE ARE MIRACLES! - and had a wonderful time. My sister prepared our mother's spagehtti recipe, which was a real treat. Very pleasant company and conversation. I've had a running joke with my sister about her fireplace, which I reference in one of the pictures. You see, we had an absolutely pathetic looking fireplace in the house we sold. Well, it wasn't the fireplace that was pathetic, it was the fire that was IN the fireplace that was pathetic. It was a gas fireplace, and I used to tell Jenny that it'd look better with two Bic lighters. Then my sister and BIL built their new home, and we went over to visit. We walk into the living room, and here's this GORGEOUS roaring fire in the fireplace. I even had to ask if it was gas, because it looked SOOOO good. When my sister told me it was a gas fireplace, I kind of lost it and yelled "That's a F _ _ _ ing GAS fire????" You have to understand, I NEVER use the "F" word. Ever since that day, they make it a point to have the F _ _ _ ing fire going whenever I walk in the door, regardless of how warm it is outside. And I always walk by and mumble, "There's that F _ _ _ ing fireplace!" Actually, I've toned it down to "There's that F'ing fireplace!"

Anyway, Dewey said that we had to make sure to have the F'ing fire in the pictures, and that's why the picture is kind of dark.

Here are a few pictures that we took during the evening. It might be awhile before we see them again, so we wanted to get some good shots of them........and the F'ing fireplace!

( One Final Dinner With My Sister )


After we got back to the MH, Jenny went in to the building to take a shower, and I changed my clothes. After I had changed, I was getting ready to do some work on the computer when I heard a strange noise. I looked around, and realized that the switch for the water pump was turned on. I looked down and saw this pink colored water seeping out from under the cabinet in the kitchen. I quickly turned off the switch, and figured that I must have bumped it on when I walked by to change. The pink water was the anti-freeze that had been put in the system to protect it from freezing. Somehow, the anti-freeze was leaking out of the water lines when the pump was on, which meant there was a busted line somewhere. About this time, Jenny got back from her shower, and while she quickly turned the pump on and off, I inspected under the cabinet and found the leaking line. Anti-freeze was squirting out of the end of what looked like a broken fitting every time the switch was turned on. We started cleaning things up, and now we're going to have see about getting this fixed by the time we leave on Wednesday. I guess we could be delayed a day or two, but we'd much rather stick to our schedule. So we'll have to see if we can get in to the shop tomorrow or Tuesday.

What a bummer!

Well, we're less than a week away from heading out again. We've had a wonderful time here, and we still have quite a bit to do. This evening, we're having dinner with our two Pastors and their wives, and another couple who are very active in our church. Tomorrow evening, we'll be going back down to my sister's (the lefse lady!)to go out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Lake Geneva called Mars. I'll be having bluegills! Mmmmmm, MMmmmm, Good! Then on Saturday morning, we're meeting some friends for breakfast, and then we have to meet some other friends for lunch. Have you noticed a common theme in all of these plans? That's one reason why we'll be glad to get on the road again. We can start eating normally again!

Anyway, we finalized our route today. We'll leave here on the Wednesday the 4th and drive to St. Louis. We'll stay at the Queen City Casino RV Park for the night. It's not bad, because you get complimentary breakfasts, discount at the RV park, and a $5.00 scratchoff ticket for use at the casino. It's going to be a lot cheaper than the last time we were in St. louis, that's for sure! On Thursday, we leave and continue south towards Little Rock. We were going to stay around there somewhere, but now we've decided to stay at the Crater of Diamonds State Park just past Little Rock. Jenny has been there before, and we'll go diamond hunting. She says it's fun. We'll see! I bet it's a WHOLE lot of fun when you find a diamond! Since we'll be arriving later in the afternoon on Thursday, we'll do the diamond hunting on Friday and stay Friday night also. Then we'll head on down to Tyler, Texas on Saturday.

I think I've sent out about a hundred camphost applications to California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska over the last week or so. I sure hope they all don't respond at the same time! I've actually heard from a few already. Unfortunately they are the parks that don't need hosts when we could be there, so we'll keep waiting. We're going to be optimistic that with so many contacts out there, we're bound to find one in each state.

One of the things that Jenny and I were looking forward to the most about our trip home was the opportunity to spend time with our friends. We had that oportunity again this evening when we had dinner with our friends Ken and Linda Olander. Those of you who've journeyed with us from the beginning will recall that Ken was the realtor that we listed (and sold) our house with.

We ate dinner at a restaurant called Fusion Five. It's a mediteranian type place, and the food is very good. I had a New York strip, Ken had a duck/pheasant dinner, Linda had a portabella chicken, and Jenny had a small filet with a crab cake. It was all delicious and very campy! The ONLY problem was that we didn't have enough time to talk! Fortunately, we'll all be meeting up tomorrow evening, because some other friends of ours, Ron and Judi Krueger, are having an open house for their new grandson. Hey, hey! A chance for more pictures!

( More Good Conversation, Good Food, and Really Good Friends )

We were invited to spend this afternoon with some very good friends, Greg and Teri Lemke. We went over around 1:00 p.m., and we almost immediately started playing bridge. We were in a bridge club with Greg and Teri, but we are no where near the caliber of players that they are. I never fail to learn something about bridge whnever we play cards with them. My only problem is remembering what I learned!

Teri always has a nice selection of snacks when they host people at their home. Today was no different. She had a nice dip that I know had shaved almonds and was very good. She also had Christmas cookies, bridge mix candy, and some hot cocktail meatballs. Yum, Yum! Then we found out that they were planning on having dinner too!

We had a wonderful afternoon of cards, conversation, and good food. Once we finished playing cards, we helped get things ready for dinner. Greg has decided that he wants to learn how to make soups, so today Teri was teaching him how to make beef stew. Oh boy, one of my favorites! We also had a terrific salad that had sliced grapefruit, mandarin ornages, and almond slices. There was also a hot artisan bread. What more do you need?

After dinner, we helped clean up and then we went in to the living room for some conversation. Unfortunately, I started falling asleep, so we excused ourselves and went home.

What a pleasant afternoon we had. There's nothing better than spending quality time with good friends!

I do need to include one more little addition to our afternoon.

When we got back to the motorhome, Jenny took Bailey inside, and I grabbed the keys to the building we're parked next to so that I could go inside and use the facilities. When I unlocked the door, all of a sudden alarms started going off, and a voice came over the speakers saying, "INTRUDER ALERT!! SOMEONE IS ON THE PREMISES!! INTRUDER ALERT!!" Yikes! I must have set off the alarm somehow!

I went back to the coach and warned Jenny that she might get a visit from the Police, and I went back inside to see if there was something I could do to turn off the alarm. Then I thought, "Right. That makes a lot of sense, to have an alarm that someone who just set it off could figure out how to turn it off!" So I grabbed my cell phone and called Tim. I explained what had happened, and he said he'd come right down. As soon as he got here, he started apologizing to me. He explained that he had forgotten to tell the cleaning crew about leaving the alarm turned off and the door to the shower room unlocked.

So everything was returned to normal. Oh yeah. I DID get a chance to use the facilities!


( A Pleasant Afternoon )

We had a wonderful dinner with our friend Diane this evening. She had suggested a restaurant that we had not been to, but we knew about it. It's owned by a friend of ours named George Hanna, and the restaurant is called the The Metropolitan. It's a small, intimate type of restaurant that makes you think you might be in Paris. I've attached some pictures so that you can see what I mean.

We had a wonderful time, with good conversation, good company, and really good food! Jenny had a salmon steak with garlic mashed potatoes, Diane had a pork tenderloin with roasted potatoes, and I had a 9 oz. filet with garlic mashed potatoes. We all raved about our meals, and we even called George over afterwards to tell him how good it was and to thank he and his staff for the wonderful service.

I included the picture of the Municipal Building because I happened to be driving past it and thought I should take a picture. It kind of fits in with the discussion about the restaurant because we did drive by it on the way to dinner.

( A Metropolitan Dinner )

After posting the few pictures we had taken while we were at Southport, I got to thinking that we weren't doing our journal, or the visitors to our journal, justice. We'd mention a number of different things that we may have done, but we didn't have any pictures to post. I realized that without the pictures, the words had little impact, if any. So I vowed to try to do better and post more pictures that will better illustrate some of our "adventures".

It just so happened that I had mentioned to Jenny that before we left here, I wanted to go to a really outstanding barbecue place to sample some real North Carolina barbecue. We recalled seeing a restaurant called Sticky Fingers featured on the FoodNetwork, and coincidentally we had seen a Sticky Fingers right here. So that's where we went last night.

WOW! I've NEVER had such good barbecue. We each ordered a full slab of ribs, but Jenny ordered the Carolina Sweet sauce while I ordered the Memphis Original. We did this so that we could sample the other. I liked hers too, but the memphis Original has just a bit more body, is a little thicker, and has a little kick to it. Boy, I haven't enjoyed a meal like that in a long time! I posted some pictures of our meals. CAUTION: Do not view if you don't want your mouth to start watering! Sorry for the blurry images. I tried using the night setting on the camera, and I didn't realize how still you have to be for it to work.

Tomorrow evening, the Carolina Beach State Park staff have their Christmas party, and we've been invited. We're supposed to bring a dessert, so I think Jenny's going to make her world famous sugar-free banana cream pie. Oh boy!
( Sticky Fingers Barbecue )

Since Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s are our “official” days off, and we lost all of Tuesday waiting for “Mike, we decided to go about some of our sightseeing plans that we had made. We went down to the North Carolina Aquarium, which is at the end of the island. It was really nice. I only took a couple of pictures because I kept getting glare off of the glass on the tanks. After that, we went over to Ft. Fisher, which was a Confederate fort that was intended to protect Wilmington and the surrounding area from Union ships. Unfortunately, the Union Navy, along with Union foot troops, defeated the Confederates and took over the fort. That, too, was very interesting. They had the coolest display. It was a huge 3D map of the entire fort and surrounding area. All of the gun batteries, troop locations, and ship positions were identified by little colored lights. A recording started playing, describing the battle. And as the battle went on, the lights would move and change, so it was really easy to see how troops were moved around during the battle. After leaving Ft. Fisher, we drove up to Wrightsville Beach, which is an upscale island north of Carolina Beach. It was beautiful, and I took quite a few pictures that I’ve posted.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and technically we’re supposed to be here. But we spoke with the Rangers, and they have no problem with us going in to Wilmington to a Thanksgiving buffet meal at the Hilton. We made reservations for 11:30, so we should be back here by 2:00p.m. or 3:00p.m. Surprisingly, they told us that the park can get very busy on Thanksgiving Day. A lot of people will come out after eating their big meals to go for nice walks on the hiking trails. It is supposed to be about 67 tomorrow, so it’ll be a nice day. And then because it’s a 4 day weekend, a lot of people will come out for their last chance to camp for the year. Unfortunately, it’s supposed to be in the upper 40’s or low 50’s after tomorrow, so that may impact people coming out. We’ll see.

The buffet was wonderful! They had the largest cheese and cracker table we’ve ever seen. There was a nice salad table with enough ingredients that a person could have built a fantastic Chef’s salad. The main table had one side with all of the traditional turkey dinner dishes, including a dynamite sweet potato dish. Then in the middle of the table, there was a carving station that was offering prime rib and ham. On the other side of the carving station was a section that offered all kinds of breakfast dishes. And of course, there was a very nice dessert table. It was really nice and very tasty. We talked about having Thanksgiving away from home, and of course, we quickly recalled that we had a number of Thanksgivings away when we were in the Navy. I think the thing Jenny missed was the activity in kitchen while preparing a dinner, and I missed smelling the turkey all day long before the big meal. And of course, we both missed the leftovers. But we’re cooking a small (10 lb.) turkey tomorrow, so we’ll have our turkey sandwiches too.

Jenny and I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that you were exactly where you wanted to be. This is our first holiday away from home, and surprisingly, it hasn’t bothered us too much. Maybe it will tomorrow. Of course we miss everyone that we would have been with, but we’re doing what we’ve wanted to do for a long time, and that feels good too. Jenny said that the one thing that she knows she’ll miss is the stuffed celery. For me, it’ll be the homemade cranberry sauce. We will be cooking a turkey breast in a day or two so we can have our turkey sandwiches!


( Aquarium & Wrightsville Beach Pics )

Jenny did a nice job commenting on the activities of our "quick" trip to Columbus. We always love going there. Certainly because Lori is there, but also because we've just fallen in love with the community (even though they are big Wisconsin opponents!). It doesn't matter how long we're there, it's always too short.

Yes, I was very hesitant about going to the restaurant Jenny mentioned. When she described it to me, all it sounded like was stir fry heaven. I've never been a big fan of stir fry, so I was less than enthusiastic. However, I really have been trying to expand my experiences, especially when it comes to trying new foods. And Jenny is right (so what else is new??) when she reminds me that in almost every case, I find that I really do enjoy the new experiences. Soooooo, we went. And as usual, she was right! It was VERY good, and I might add that it is very reasonable considering that they charge one price and you can load up your bowl with as much as you can carry. I went with the New York strip meat, and added some broccoli, sliced potatoes, water chestnuts, and some pasta. Then I used teriyaki sauce on it. When you mix it with the rice they bring, there was almost too much to eat. So the next time we go back, I'll try something else and Jenny will get to say I told you so again!

It was wonderful that Lori had hired some movers to take care of hauling everything in. Sure made our work easier! Of course, when it was time to hook up the trailer to the truck and take it back to the motel to park it, it started raining real hard. And it rained the entire time I was hooking up the trailer and unhooking it. So I got absolutely drenched! I was able to go inside and change at the motel, so at least I didn't need to wear wet clothes all afternoon.

I did accompany the ladies on their little shopping trip. And that's all I'm going to say about that!

Dinner was wonderful, as Jenny mentioned. Since we were at Martini's, we all had to try different martini's. See, I told you I was trying to expand my experiences! Jenny had some kind of Mango fruity kind of drink, Lori had a yellow cake martini, which did smell and taste a bit like yellow cake, and I had a Key Lime martini. We all tried each others drinks, and I think I liked Jenny's the best. The Key Lime martini had too much of a bite to it. Later, Lori had a Grapetini, which was very good too. The restaurant serves Italian cuisine, and it was all very good.

Lori's gift that Jenny described is absolutely unbelievable! She's always been so good at thinking of very unusual and thoughtful gifts. But this really topped them all! It certainly isn't because of the cost, although clearly it cost a bit. It's just that Lori thought of this and put it all together the way she did. THAT is what is truly amazing. She's always so busy and involved with so many things. That's one of the reasons we're so proud of her. She never stops looking for new things to participate in or to use to expand herself. This gift was one of the most memorable that we've ever received or in all probablity will receive. Thanks again Lori! It was awesome, just like you!

We are back from Columbus Ohio and our daughters home. We took her things to her that were still stored here and took her our old couch, mattress and box spring and the treadmill. We borrowed a trailor from one of our friends at church and it went very well. Lori had hired movers to move everything into her home. That was a good thing !!!!! We then had a great time shopping and hanging out for a while. We took Garry to a place for lunch that he was a bit resistant too, but in the end really liked. It was a Mongolial barbeque. You go up and choose all the elements for what is essentially a stir fry. Then you proceed to the cooking area which is a large round grill with several chefs around it with looooong knife/turners whick cook your food in front of you. Then when you get back to your table, there is rice and tortillas waiting for you. It is very healthy and depending on what kind of job you did selecting your items, very good. I usually do a terriaki type dish with shrimp and veggies, Garry did a terriaki one with new york strip pieces and veggies.

A good time was had by all.

We also went to a great restaurant by Cameron Mitchell, called Martini's. Cameron Mitchell is the restaraunt guru of Columbus. He has seveal different very!!! good restaurants in Columbus. They are all somewhat themed, and very upscale/casual with great food and atmosphere. If any of you are in Columbus you must try one or several of them. Martini's, The Fish Market, Cap city Diner and Camerons. There may be more, but these are the ones I know of.

Of course you can not go to Columbus with out getting some Graeters ice cream. If you like ice cream, it is a treat unparalleled. It is the creamiest and best ice cream I have ever had.

Then of course I had to make a trip to the bead store Bysantium. I have recently started doint beaded jewelry. I wanted to have a craft that I could easily do on the road and maybe hopefully sell some for extra $$. It was so wonderful. A true beading paradise. It isn't so much like a huge store with row after row of beads. It is truly an experience that appeals to all your sences. It is a wonderful building that inside is not only beading supplies, but has many examples of other crafts and ethnic items. The center of the store is a large square cases of beading supplies in inumerable drawers with dividers. If you want to see anything, you can ask for that drawer to be brought out. It is a visual feast of colors and textures. It gets the creative juices flowing and your mind just reels with the possibilities. What a geat experience.

For us we can't go to Columbus without visiting the Book Loft in German village. It is a block long old brick home that has evolved into one of the most unique book stores in the US. It is a rabbits warren of narrow halls and little alcoves of books. You could spend hours and days exploring the store and still not see everything. We always come away with something.

The trip was much too short, but we will be seeing Lori again on our way to our first volunteer position in North Carolina.

We realized that his was just another item on the list done that brings us closer to the big adventure.