Our new location in Kissimmee

We've been out here on Poinciana Blvd for a few days and Mike took some photos of the RV this afternoon.

From December 2011

We've parked the RV in an area where the ground is solid and level (some of the ground here is too soft to park the RV on).

From December 2011

We have seen a few deer here and Mike took a photo of this one a couple of days ago.

From December 2011

Moved to new location in Kissimmee

We spent the morning getting the RV ready for our move this afternoon. This morning Mike took photos of our RV parked at my brother's house.

From December 2011

After eating lunch, Mike drove the RV out to my brother's property on Poinciana Blvd and I followed in the car. On the way out to Poinciana Blvd Mike stopped at a 7-11 to get gas in the RV ($3.299 a gal).

We had purchased a 50-amp electric box some time ago and had a local electrician install the box and connect it to the existing electric service on the property earlier this week. Since there were already water and sewer connections where we are going to park the RV, all we needed was the electric box installed.

After setting up the RV, we had dinner before going back over to my brother's house to celebrate his 85th birthday and our 44th wedding anniversary. My niece Kathy and her family were there and my nephew David.

Christmas in Kissimmee

Here is a photo of our Christmas tree decorated with the ornaments I bought on our trip this year - most of them are from the places we visited in Alaska.

From December 2011

Fletcher drove up from Ft. Lauderdale to spend the Christmas weekend with us. It's been a long time since we were together for Christmas and it is great to have him here.

From December 2011

My niece, Christa, stopped by the RV to see us before she visited with her grandparents.

From December 2011

We had Christmas dinner at my brother's house this afternoon. We didn't have far to go since we are parked in their yard. My niece Kathy and her family joined us for dinner. We had such a good time that we forgot to take any photos today of all of us together.

It's been about 5 years since we had spend Christmas with my brother and family and it was really nice for us to be together.

Leaving Dothan

While we were in Dothan, we had our regular checkups with our doctor and dentist. We both had our eyes checked at our optometrist and I got new glasses. I found out that I have cataracts and that one of Mike's cataracts may be growing back and that we both needed to be re-examined in about 4 months. We've already made appointments at the opthamologist here in Dothan for April.

On the way up to Canada this year a rock hit the windshield on the Vue and caused a large crack. We normally drive with a cover over the windshield, but the wind was blowing so hard that day that we had to take the cover off. We decided to wait & get the windshield replaced when we got back to Dothan. So last month we had Auto Glass Medic come out and install a new windshield. 

We had a great time visiting with our friends Glenda & W.T. at The Willows. W.T. & Glenda invited us to their house for Thanksgiving dinner. Glenda's son, Mike, joined us for dinner. We all had a good time and ate too much.

We did get together for dinner with our friends from Ozark, Mike and Gayle. I guess I wrote down the wrong date on my calendar and we got a call from them one night wanting to know where we were. We were supposed to meet at Golden Corral for dinner. Mike & Gayle came over after dinner for a visit. We did get together for dinner a few weeks later.

On December 23 we said goodbye to Glenda and W.T. and headed south to Kissimmee, FL.

From December 2011

We took our usual route down US 231 to I-10 east and then south on I-75 to the Florida Turnpike. We left Dothan a little after 9 a.m. and arrived at Sue's brother's house a little after 7 p.m. after driving 379 miles.

Since we had filled the gas tank in the RV before we stayed at The Willows, we didn't have to get gas until we got to Wildwood before we got on the turnpike. We stopped at a Pilot station and got 45.75 gallons at $3.169 a gallon. The toll on the turnpike for the RV and car came to $10.50.

Back in Dothan, AL

We slept in this morning, so we left  the Supercenter just before 11:00 and drove south on I-65. We stopped at the Flying J at Exit 264 to get gas (29 gal @ $3.179 gal). We decided to have a late breakfast at the Denney's there.

Mike ordered their Lumberjack Slam (pancakes, ham, bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns and toast) and I had the Ultimate Omelette with hash browns and toast. We were back on the road by noon.

We stopped at the Sam's Club at 4:00 in Dothan to fill up the RV gas tank one last time (27.38 gal @ $3.139 gal) before we go to The Willows RV Lots for the winter.

We arrived here at The Willows at 4:45. The owner and our friend, W. T., helped Mike with setting up the RV in our site. We are in site F which is the one we've stayed in before.

From Dothan, AL

It is so good to see W. T. and Glenda, his wife, again. We had a great trip this year, but it will be nice to stay put for a while.

I don't have any photos to post for today's travels because it was raining a good part of today. It was 214 miles from Gardendale to The Willows.

We will be spending the winter here in Dothan. It is time for our annual doctors and dentist visits and we both need to have an eye exam. So the first thing on our agenda will be to make the appointments with our doctors.

We need to have the windshield replaced on the Saturn Vue and Mike is going to be working on removing the tar on the RV and car that we drove through on our trip down to Haines, AK.

Traveling from Paducah to Gardendale, AL

We left the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Paducah this morning at 9:30 and headed south on I-24 and crossed into Tennessee a little before 11:00.

From Traveling from Paducah to Gardendale, AL

A few miles north of Nashville we changed from I-24 to I-65 south. We drove through Nashville at noon and drove past the Union Station Hotel.

From Traveling from Paducah to Gardendale, AL

When we reached Franklin, Tennessee we saw that the traffic heading north on I-65 was backed up for several miles.

From Traveling from Paducah to Gardendale, AL

We stopped at a Travel America station at Exit 61 to get gas in the RV (44.12 gal @ $3.179 gal). We've noticed that the gas prices are getting lower the farther south we're travel. We found an out of the way place to park the RV so we could fix lunch before getting back on I-65.

We crossed the state line into Alabama at 2:20 and drove past the Alabama Welcome Station where a Saturn 1B rocket is on display.

From Traveling from Paducah to Gardendale, AL

We began to see cotton fields when we got around the Decatur area.

From Traveling from Paducah to Gardendale, AL

Shortly after that we crossed the Tennessee River.

From Traveling from Paducah to Gardendale, AL

When we reached Gardendale, we exited the interstate at Exit 271 and drove east to the Wal-Mart Supercenter where we are spending the night. We drove 320 miles today and got in here at the Supercenter at 4:00.

Driving from Carlock to Paducah

We got up at our usual time of 8:00 and after our morning coffee and breakfast, we broke camp. The trees here are turning a glorious gold color.

From Driving from Carlock to Paducah

We left Kamp Komfort about 9:15 and I snapped a photo of the office before we left the campground.

From Driving from Carlock to Paducah

We headed back down the road to connect with I-74 South and saw these Canadian geese feeding alongside a pond.

From Driving from Carlock to Paducah

We stopped at a rest area near Farmer City and saw this Adams Leaning Wheel Grader.

From Driving from Carlock to Paducah

We connected with I-57 at Champaign and drove south until we stopped at a rest area near Green Creek to fix lunch at noon.

Around 2:00 we stopped at a Travel America station at Exit 95 on I-57 to get gas in the RV (54.479 gal @ $3.359 gal).

We drove another 50 miles before we exited I-57 at Exit 44 to get on to I-24 south. We passed by the exit to Metropolis and saw this sign advertising the giant Superman statue in Metropolis. We always seem to be in a hurry when we go by here or it's too late in the day to stop, but Metropolis is on our list of places to visit.

From Driving from Carlock to Paducah

We crossed the Ohio River and entered Kentucky at 3:45.

From Driving from Carlock to Paducah

We arrived here at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Paducah around 4:00 after driving 299 miles today. After we got the RV parked I went in to do some shopping at the Supercenter.

Antique Archaeology & Buffalo Bill Museum, LeClaire, IA

We got up at our regular time this morning and left Wal-Mart at 9:45 and drove east on I-80.
We stopped at the BP station at Exit 292 in Davenport just before 11:00 to get gas in the RV (39.87 gal for $3.349 a gal).

At the I-80 Exit 306 we drove north on US-67 to LeClaire, Iowa. We found a place to park the RV in front of this beautiful home which was a block away from Antique Archaeology.

From Antique Archaeology & LeClaire, IA

From Antique Archaeology & LeClaire, IA

We walked back to Antique Archaeology to look around their shop. We enjoy watching their show, American Pickers, on the History Channel. Since we were in Iowa we decided to plan our route so we could stop in LeClaire.

From Antique Archaeology & LeClaire, IA

We browsed around the shop and recognized several items we had seen on the TV show like this Philip Morris bellhop. 

From Antique Archaeology & LeClaire, IA

We had hoped to see Mike & Frank and found out that they were in West Virginia "picking". We learned that Danielle generally comes in to the shop in the evening since so many fans want to talk with her & take photos with her that it's hard for her to get any work done. After looking around and buying some souvenirs, we headed back to the RV.

We drove through downtown LeClaire and over to the riverfront to visit the Buffalo Bill Museum. We found a place to park the RV and since it was a little after 12:00, we decided to fix lunch before walking over to the museum.

We walked over to the museum at 1:00 and paid the $4.00 senior admission.

From Buffalo Bill Museum in LeClaire, IA

We saw exhibits showing the history of LeClaire, antique household items and tools and a desk that belonged to Abraham Lincoln according to a letter found in the desk.

From Buffalo Bill Museum in LeClaire, IA

There was an exhibit of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody's memorabilia. He was born on a homestead near LeClaire.

From Buffalo Bill Museum in LeClaire, IA

We walked through some doors to view The Lone Star Sternwheeler that was in service on the Mississippi River from 1869 to 1968. She is the last running and only intact wooden-hull paddlewheel to travel the Mississippi.

From Buffalo Bill Museum in LeClaire, IA

We left LeClaire around 2:00 and headed east on I-80 and crossed the Mississippi River

From Driving from Coralville, IA to Carlock, IL

and then we entered Illinois.

Then at the I-80 Exit 46A we connected with I-74 South to Peoria. We stopped at the Five Guys Burgers in Peoria at Exit 88 for an early dinner at 3:45.

After dinner we drove south on I-74 to Carlock. We took Exit 120 to CR-53 west and then north on N 600 East Road to Kamp Komfort RV Park and Campground. We arrived here at 5:00 and checked in at the office. We paid $14 with our Passport America membership. We are in site #69 with full hookups (50 amp elec) and free wi-fi. We drove a total of 191 miles today.

From Driving from Coralville, IA to Carlock, IL

Forest City to Coralville, IA

This morning we got up at our regular time of 8:00 and after the last 2 days when we were getting up at 6:00, it felt like we had "slept in". After breakfast we got the RV ready to leave Forest City.

Before we left the Winnebago Service Center, Mike walked back over and bought 2 Audiovox walkie talkies which cost $124.31 after our 10% Winnebago customer discount. Of the 4 Audiovox walkie talkies that came with the Adventurer, 2 of them had quit working. Mike opted to get a newer model walkie because it had the weather channel which the older model doesn't have and they only cost a few dollars more.

After leaving the Service Center at 10:00, we drove to the Winnebago Rally Park just down the road and stopped at one of the dump stations to empty our tanks and to get some water for our fresh water tank.

Our next stop was at Sid's Gas station south of Forest City to get gas in the RV (31 gallons @$3.339 a gal).

We drove south on US-69 to Garner, IA and then east on US-18 to Floyd, IA and then south on US 218. We drove through Waterloo, IA.

From Forest City to Coralville, IA

At Evansdale, IA we got on to I-380 and stopped at 12:30 the Flying J at Exit 68. We only stopped here long enough to fix and eat lunch.

An hour later we crossed the Cedar River at Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

From Forest City to Coralville, IA

Just west of Coralville we took Exit 0A on I-380 to I-80 east and then exited at Exit 240 to go to the Wal-mart Supercenter at Coralville where we're spending the night. We arrived here at the Supercenter at 2:15 and had driven 194 miles from Forest City.

We normally don't stop this early in the day when we're spending the night at Wal-Mart. Tomorrow we're going to be stopping to do some sightseeing and this is the most convenient
Wal-Mart on our route that allows overnight parking.

After settling in here, I went in to the Supercenter to do some shopping.

Visit with Charles in Algona & Winnebago repair bill

We had another early rise this morning at 6:00. By 7:00 we had the RV ready when the technician, Mike, came over to take it to the service area.

Before we started on our trip this year W. T., our friend and landlord in Dothan, asked that we visit a former college professor of his, Charles, who lives near Forest City. Mike called Charles last night and he invited us over for a visit this morning.

We left the Winnebago plant about 8:00 and headed south on US-69 to US-18 and then west to Algona, IA which is a little over 40 miles from Forest City. We called Charles when we were close to his apartment building and he met us outside and then led us up to his apartment.

From Winnebago & Forest City, Iowa

Charles & his wife, Mary Ellen, had lived on some acreage near Bode before selling it and moving to the apartment in Algona. Charles just recently became a widower when Mary Ellen died in August.

Charles had coffee and pastries waiting for us when we got upstairs to his apartment. We had a great time visiting with Charles and before we left, he showed us around his home. He showed us this marquetry picture that W. T. had given him years ago and had been done by W. T.'s father.

From Winnebago & Forest City, Iowa

We stopped outside to take some photos

From Winnebago & Forest City, Iowa

and Charles showed us the church he attends which is just across the street.

From Winnebago & Forest City, Iowa

A few minutes later Charles' daughter, Becky, stopped by to say hello while she was on her lunch hour.

From Winnebago & Forest City, Iowa

We said goodbye to Charles and thanked him for his hospitality and headed back towards Forest City.

On our way through Algona we passed by the Snap-On Tools factory there.

From Winnebago & Forest City, Iowa

We saw a sign for the Hobo Museum in Britt and we decided to go check it out. Unfortunately, the museum was closed and is only open during the summer months.

From Winnebago & Forest City, Iowa

We arrived back in Forest City about noon and decided to go to Hardee's for lunch before returning to the factory to wait for the RV to come back from the service department.

From Winnebago & Forest City, Iowa

We got back to the Winnebago Customer Service Center a little before 1:30. We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with the some of the other Winnebago customers and talking about the repairs we all were having done. Winnebago is pet friendly and there were several dogs on leashes and even a couple of cats in their carriers in the waiting room. There is so much going on in the service center that Tinker hasn't been able to get any of his daily naps in, so tonight he'll be trying to catch up on them.

More customers came in just before 3:00 which is the time Winnebago requested so the owners would be there when their RV came back from the service area.

After the technician brought our RV back to the service center, Mike met with him and he went over the repairs. They resealed around the clearance lights over the windshield, replaced the Energy Management Module, replaced the seals around the bedroom slide, replaced the living room slide topper torsion assemblies that allowed the material to roll up and adjusted the living slide. They also raised the Hi-Temp Sensor for our Norcold refrigerator (which had been installed too low) and re-insulated the flue. We had had the recall work for the Norcold done back in January at Camping World in Dothan and they had placed the sensor too low and hadn't put the insulation back correctly.

The total bill for the repairs came to $1,844.12. Our extended warranty company, FreedomCare now Camping World Care, paid  $996.20 on the living room slide topper repair and the leak in the bedroom slide. Our share of the repair bill for the rest of the repairs was $847.92, which included the sales tax on the warranty work and our $50 deductible.

We parked the RV back in our campsite and will spend tonight here. Tomorrow we'll stop at the Winnebago Rally Park to dump our tanks and get some water for our fresh water tank before leaving Forest City.

We got up this morning at 6:00 and after a quick breakfast, we put the slides in, raised the jacks and disconnected the electric to prepare the RV for its move to the service area here at the Winnebago factory.

Mike walked over to the Customer Service Center at 7:00 to check-in for our service appointment for today. He took our extended warranty paperwork and the serial number for the RV and the current mileage. Winnebago has to call our extended warranty company and get authorization before they can start the work.

We had made our appointment in mid-August and Winnebago e-mailed us letter comfirming our appointment along with a map of Forest City, a map of the Winnebago complex with camping sites marked and a sign to put in the RV window with the dates for our appointment.

While Mike was checking-in, I made sure we had everything that we would need for today since we won't have access to the RV until after 3:30 when it is returned to the Customer Service Center. We had packed up Tinker's food, treats and water along with his bowls and we're taking a laptop so we use the free wi-fi in the waiting room at the Customer Service Center. We also needed our jackets this morning, since it was 35° when we got up this morning.
After Mike returned from the Service Center, we waited in the RV for the technician to come out to the RV and go over our work order for the repairs. A little while later, Mike (a technician), came and we showed him our problem areas.

We have a leak above the passenger side windshield and whenever it rains (even a light rain) the bedroom slide leaks on the sides and the water runs out on to the hall rug. The Energy Management System panel doesn't always indicate that we are connected to 50 amp electric when we are and it shows 30 amp. The last thing on our list is the slide topper for the living room slide. It is binding when we put the slide out and in. The last few days it has gotten worse and the slide isn't going out as smoothly as it should.

After going over our work order, Mike (the technician) drove the RV over to the service area and we walked over to the waiting room in the Service Center.

Last Tuesay we had called American Home Base to have our mail sent to General Delivery here in Forest City. So while Mike and Tinker stayed at Winnebago, I drove to the post office and picked up our mail. We spent the rest of the morning going through our mail and watching TV in the waiting room.

We decided to go to the Pizza Hut here for lunch for their buffet. We took Tinker with us and left him in the car while we ate lunch. Since it was still in the upper 60's, we just left the windows cracked for him. After lunch we returned to the Winnebago factory and waited until our RV was finished.

When Mike talked with the technician this afternoon he was told that after contacting our extended warranty company they pressurized the RV and located the leak above the windshield. The rain is coming in from the clearance lights above the windshield and they will repair that tomorrow along with the other items on our list.

Mike drove the RV back over to our campsite while Tinker and I walked back over so I could guide Mike as he backed in to our spot. After we got the RV set up again, Mike took a photo of the camping area here.

From Winnebago & Forest City, Iowa

Tomorrow we will have another early wake up and spend another day in the service waiting room.

Sioux Falls, SD to Forest City, IA

We left the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Sioux Falls, SD at 8:45 and drove east on I-90. We entered Minnesota a little after 9:00. I wanted to get a photo of the "Welcome to Minnesota" sign (made in the shape of Minnesota), but as we pulled into the rest area there the sign disappeared behind a berm between I-90 and the rest area. So I'll just have to use the sign for the Minnesota Rest Area.

From Sioux Falls to Forest City

We saw a lot of wind turbines along this part of I-90

From Sioux Falls to Forest City

and we saw this herd of longhorns near Fairmont, MN.

From Sioux Falls to Forest City

We stopped at the Blue Earth Rest Area and there was a historic marker there commemorating the completion of the last 4 miles of I-90 in 1978.

From Sioux Falls to Forest City

The reverse side of the historic marker told about the early exploration of southwestern Minnesota.

From Sioux Falls to Forest City

Right after leaving the rest area, we took Exit 119 south on US-169. We passed by the town of Blue Earth which has the world's tallest Jolly Green Giant, but we weren't able to see it from the highway.

From Sioux Falls to Forest City

We crossed the state line into Iowa a little before noon.

At Lakota, IA we took SR-9 east to US-69 and then south to Forest City.

From Sioux Falls to Forest City

We arrived here at the Winnebago factory at 12:45. There were already a lot of RVs here, but we did find a spot to park the RV next to the factory offices. We do have 30 amp electric hookup, but the site slopes downhill to the front so we had to put blocks under the front wheels to get the RV level.

Our service appointment for tomorrow is at 7 a.m., so we have to be up early and have the RV ready to be moved to the service area by that time.

Driving from Rapid City to Sioux Falls

We didn't do much yesterday, but I did wash several loads of laundry at the laundromat across from our campsite. It is one of the small laundromats that are located throughout the campground, so there are only 2 washers and 2 dryers in it.

We got up at 7:00 this morning and left the campground about 8:20. We stopped at the Flying J on I-90 east of Rapid City to get gas in the RV (25 gal @ $3.479 a gal after $.02 discount).

We passed by Wall, SD which is home to the famous roadside stop "Wall Drug Store" (one of the places we haven't visited yet) and saw their 80' dinosaur alongside the interstate.

From Trip from Rapid City to Sioux Falls

We stopped for an early lunch at a parking area on I-90 just west of Murdo, SD. No sooner were we back on the road when we saw this "town" which is a roadside attraction called "1880 Town" that is a collection of historic buildings from South Dakota.

From Trip from Rapid City to Sioux Falls

A little later we crossed into the Central Time Zone and I-90 wound through rolling hills.

From Trip from Rapid City to Sioux Falls

We crossed the Missouri River about noon. We stopped at a rest area on the east side of the Missouri River at Chamberlain, SD and I took photos of the river and the bridge we drove over.

From Trip from Rapid City to Sioux Falls

Just west of Montrose, SD we saw this huge head of a bull sitting on a hill on the south side of I-90. The sun was really bright when I took the photo, so the head is mostly shadowed.

From Trip from Rapid City to Sioux Falls

There were more sculptures and I couldn't take photos fast enough. I searched the internet tonight and found out that the sculptures are in Porter Sculpture Park.

From Trip from Rapid City to Sioux Falls

We arrived at Sioux Falls around 5:00 and stopped at the Flying J to get gas (54.3 gal @$3.379 a gal after our $.02 discount). There were several semi trucks parked at the Flying J that were hauling wind turbine blades. I managed to get a photo as we were leaving the Flying J. You realize how large the blades are when they are compared to the truck cab.

From Trip from Rapid City to Sioux Falls

We are spending the night here in Sioux Falls at the Wal-Mart Supercenter on the east side of town.

It would have been nice to stop at some of the roadside attractions we saw today, but we had 360 miles to travel and there just wasn't time. Tomorrow we will be driving to Forest City, IA to the Winnebago plant. We have an appointment for Monday morning to have some repairs done.