Summer 2023 Recap

 April 6-September 14, 2023

So here we are at the end of our stay here in IL this summer, I had every intention of blogging earlier but circumstances prevented that from happening. So here’s a semi-brief recap of our summer here in IL.

We arrived safely at Forrest Bo Woods here in Sullivan IL, before too long we were set up and settled in for the summer.

A day or two after arriving our new Wilderness Montana hybrid super queen bed arrived. What a difference it has made in our sleeping.

A few weeks after arriving our RV fridge decided to die without warning. We found an off-brand residential fridge at the local Menards. With the help of our friends Vic and Phyllis, we were able to get it that same day. It sat outside on the patio for a few days while Dave modified its space in the RV. We’ve enjoyed the room and having the ice cream the new fridge affords us.

                                                                        Out with the old

                                                                            In with the new!

By mid-summer, the plants were all in bloom.

On May 1st we celebrated our 10th year of full-time RV living. We have made so many great friends over the years and made lots of wonderful memories. 

In early May our friends Guy and Kelly stopped in for a week. We know them from our time in VT, Dave and Guy worked together for many years. They have been full-timers for a few years and are on their way back to VT from spending a winter in WA where they worked at a ski resort. We’ve seen them a few times over the last couple of years at various places around the country, and we look forward to the next time our trails cross.

Of course, when friends come for a visit for the first time a trip to Casey IL is in order, have to see what new big things they’ve built since the year before.

Of course, there's always the double outhouse to visit. 

They are headed back to VT to help out with family. We wish them good luck in their first workamper experience.

My brother came for a visit as he and Kati headed to WI, no pictures as I had planned to get one on their return trip back south, but fate had other ideas in store.

On our twice-a-week drives around Lake Shelbyville, as we check the loaner life jackets and pick up supply requests, we come across an area that is abundant with wild blackberry bushes that, when in season, are loaded with berries. 

 

On Mother’s Day, my brother was due back in for an overnight stay. Dave and I planned and prepped a lasagna dinner we were to cook at my folks' house. As we were getting things loaded in the truck I took a bad fall down our interior steps, bounced off the center island, and ended up on the floor. Dave finally heard me calling him, with being nauseous and getting sick we realized I needed to go get my arm checked out. A short time after arriving at the local ER I had x-rays taken and my right arm was broken, near the shoulder so no cast was possible. In a few days, the inside of my right arm had changed to purple from my elbow across the front of the shoulder, with a clear line where I had made contact with the island. 6 weeks of keeping it still then 6 weeks of PT, along with keeping the dental appointments I had for a root canal and crown. Not a fun way to $pend 3 months of the summer. In the end, my gum aches are gone, and I have lost some range of motion in my shoulder.

Meanwhile, our friends Joe and Brenda stopped in for a few days on their way east. We enjoyed a few dinners out with them and hope they enjoyed their eastern trek. Of course, we forgot to get a picture.

It’s been a crazy summer of trying to celebrate occasions. After my Mother’s Day mishap, on Father’s Day, my dad had Covid so that celebration was postponed. My folks' 65th anniversary celebration had to be postponed due to the excessive heat. We then planned it for 8/30 which is also both of their birthdays, which we then had to postpone because Dave through his back out. We finally got out a week later.  

The hummingbirds have kept us entertained once again this summer. So fun to watch them flying about.

We enjoyed a few meals with our friends Frank and Pat, always lots of laughter when we get together. 

O

Thanks to some wonderful campers, and my folks' neighbors, Dave has once again enjoyed just a few BLTs this summer. 

Basket Tomato

We’ve enjoyed many an afternoon eating and game playing with our friends Vic and Phyllis who are gate attendants here at our campground.  We never got any pictures besides this one of Vic and Dave fixing a meal for Phyllis and I. 

In the morning we’ll be heading west to CO to visit with our son Tom. We’re trying a different site again at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. We’ll be there for 2 weeks before heading to Trinidad Lake State Park for a week where we hope to see some of the places we wanted to see last year when we were so sick. Then we’ll wander on down to our place in Port Aransas TX where we’ll spend the winter on the beach with our Gulf Waters family,

Until next time...