Stopover in Bloomsburg - Visiting With PA Relatives

We are heading toward our Workamping positions this summer at Interlake RV Park in Rhinebeck, New York.  We need to be there on the 1st of June.  

Our first night after we left Iowa, we stayed in the Walmart in Lebanen, Indiana.  They had signs posted that read "No Overnight Truck Parking", so Lee went inside and checked to see if we could spend the night.  They said it was fine and so we parked behind a Motor Home that was also spending the night.  It was a nice cool evening and perfect for roughing it without electricity and sewer, etc.  We had a great night's sleep.  

The next night we stopped at Green Acres Lake RV Park in Lake Milton, Ohio.  It is a nice campground but the price was higher than last night!  They had a nice little restaurant next to a small lake where we ate a couple of times.  

As Lee was figuring out where we were going to stay tonight, he realized that we weren't too far from his brother, Jon's, home in Bloomsberg, Pennsylvania.  So we sent him an e-mail which he didn't receive because it was sent after midnight.  So Lee called him early this morning to tell them we would be arriving there this evening.  Jon is a part of the local volunteer fire department and we stayed on the fire station grounds.  

Jon met us at the Fire Station to show us where to park and then Michele came by with the van and picked us all up.  Then we went over to their house.  We hadn't seen their place yet and so I was really excited to see their new digs!

This is Isabel sitting on the deck next to their pool.

Jon, Michele and Isabel

We had a tour of their house which is very nice and then we decided to go to a local brewery and restaurant.

The food was really good but they mixed up my order and we ended up eating free.  It just took forever to get our meals and then mine was wrong so she had to send it back to the kitchen.  She gave me some free New England Clam Chowder so I would have something to eat while everyone else was eating. 

Lee's Chicken Pot Pie

My free Cheesecake

My food still didn't show up and everyone else was about finished eating so the waitress brought me a free cheesecake too.  It was delicious.  I even shared some of it with Lee.

Finally, my dinner was ready but I told her to box it up and I'd eat it at home because everyone else had finished long ago.  So, on top of the freebies, she gave us a $25 gift certificate.  We gave Jon the gift certificate to pay for our meals because we wouldn't be able to use a gift certificate for a long time.

After dinner we went back to Jon's house.  Jon finally was able to get in touch with Lyn (Lee's sister) and Sai and they came over to visit with us also.  They had been out gallivanting and so didn't get the phone message.  

Lyn and Sai

We sat around and talked for quite awhile until we decided we had better get ourselves to bed so we could get up at a reasonable time tomorrow and get on the road.  

It was certainly nice that they could take care of us on such short notice.  And, it was great to see them!!  We're planning on seeing the rest of the Pennsylvania family after we finish our job in Rhinebeck.  The leaves ought to be looking pretty good by the time we get there.  With any luck, Lee's brother, Jay, will let us park in his driveway again.  The camping rates are great there!!

Is That Snow!! - No!!

We took these the day we left Sugar Bottom Campground.  It looks like it is snowing, but actually it is cottonwood trees that are producing cotton!  The stuff just floats in the air and gets all over everything.

Look how much of the cotton is piling up 

along the streets.  It looks like snow!

Last Night in Iowa Spent with Great Friends

This is our last night in Iowa and we went to Biaggi's Restaurant in Cedar Rapids with friends from church. 

Pam Dircks arrived first and so we got to chat awhile before the rest of them came. 

The whole table showed up.  Jerry and Carol Schaub, Anne Christensen, Barb and Larry Taylor, Ken and Carol Cuhel, Carl Christensen, Esther Christensen, us and Pam.  A table of great people that it is a privilege to know. We all had great meals and a lot of conversation.

 Anne and Esther Christensen

After we left Biaggi's, Jerry and Carol Schaub invited all of us over for dessert at their house in Marion.

Jerry and Carol Cuhel serving dessert!

Carol served our choice of a Brownie with ice cream or a Strawberry cake with ice cream.  We all think alike and most of us, if not all, had some of each.  Thus, this huge plate of dessert that was awesome!

Ken Cuhel and Carl Christensen

Carol, Anne and Esther

Barb and Larry Taylor and Jerry Schaub, looking at home!

There is nothing like spending time with good friends.  It seems no matter how long it has been since we've seen them that we just pick up where we left off.  Conversation is always flowing and we have such a great time.  I keep hoping that we can get some of these guys to come visit us on our travels.  The Schaubs and Taylors did visit us when we were in Montana in 2007 and we had a great time!

Saying Goodbye is Hard!

This morning the kids arrived and Chance and Danica made breakfast.  We had breakfast sandwiches with eggs, cheese, and bacon or sausage with juice.  They were really good!

Addi wanted to help with breakfast so she handed eggs to her Mom when they were needed.

 Here Chance is handing Addi her breakfast.

Our daughter, Lori, joined us for lunch today.  We were glad she could come out and didn't have to work since we are leaving Iowa tomorrow.  I do have some beautiful daughters!!

It was a good thing I got the picture above when Lori first got here because the weather turned nasty and it rained the rest of the morning.  

Lee and I made lunch today and Lee got the worst end of it.  He was trying to keep the coals going and so he stood with a golf umbrella over his head and the coals while my lunch cooked.  I made a beef and potato bake and none of us were too thrilled with it so I'm taking it out of my recipe book.  It made a ton of food too and I threw the leftovers out!  First recipe that we've made in the Dutch oven that we didn't like!

For lunch we moved the picnic table under the awning of the  fifth wheel and ate.  We still got somewhat wet but not too bad.  Whenever there was a time with less rain coming down, Chance and Danica packed the van.  They managed to get most of it done before it poured down!

When it was cleanup after lunch, I donned what Chance calls my "Aqua Tele-tubby outfit" (my poncho) so that I could clean off the table without getting drenched!

Then it was time for everyone to leave and it always takes me awhile to recover from saying goodbye!

More Camping

This morning it was our turn for breakfast so I decided to make Omelets in a Bag.  I mixed up the eggs and cut up veggies and ham to go with it and then, of course, shredded cheese.  Everyone decided what they wanted in their omelet.  We've seen this done once before at a camping weekend with our buddies from the Hawkeye Camping Club in the Cedar Rapids, Marion, Hiawatha area.  It went pretty well except that the omelets didn't get done as fast because I didn't have a large enough pot.  We couldn't get as many in and it took longer to cook.  They were good all the same though.

Danica is helping Tommy fill his breakfast bag.

I'm starting to load mine.

Tommy is deciding whether this is okay.  He must 

have because he ate the whole thing.

We call this "Our Two Monkeys".  Tommy is showing us how monkeys peel their bananas and just at that time Chance decided to scratch his head.  Funny!!

Here are some of my favorite people!

Now Grandma decided that we should make even a bigger mess!  Tommy, Addi and I are going to make dessert for tonight.  It will be a Dirt Cake.  Here Danica is dividing a box of Oreo cookies between Tommy and Addi.  They will be the dirt.

Here the kids are smashing their Oreos.  Tommy is using a rolling pin and Addi is using a meat hammer.

We are getting there!

Ms. Addi's looks pretty mushed!

Now we are adding Cool Whip to Chocolate pudding and then they are going to mash that to mix it up.

Adding showing off her mashed pudding concoction. 

Then, of course, we added gummy worms 

and malted milk ball for rocks.

Grandpa helped Addi with hers and suspiciously there are very few worms or malted milk balls showing.  Don't know which of the two culprits add more than they put in!  lol

Here is Tommy's finished dessert!  All worms and malted milk balls accounted for!  Of course, Grandma helped him!

Here is Addi's finished cake!  Not as wormy, but still delicious!

Chance grilled burgers for lunch and we had 

our Dirt Cake for dessert.  Tommy enjoyed it!!

Danica and Jessica finished their desserts!

Jessica and McKenzie

Lexi

It was my turn to make dinner so I put ribs in 

the Dutch Oven.  Boy, were they good!

Grandpa dishing out his ribs.

After dinner, Grandma brought out the sparkers for Tommy and Addi.  At first, they were not too thrilled with the long wooden sticks.  They weren't used to them.  Then, of course, their Mommy kept thinking they were going to burn themselves so she didn't help matters any.  lol

Tommy was afraid to move at first!

Finally, they relaxed a little and had some fun with them!

Danica and Addi burned the last two of the sparklers!

Then it was time for the little ones to head to bed and our intrepid campers headed off to the Marriott for the night.  Danica didn't get much sleep the night before.  We found her on our couch in the morning when we woke up.  She deserted the rest of them! lol  Tommy and Addi slept pretty well but Chance didn't get much sleep either.  They'll be back to see us tomorrow!