Mt. Vernon Kentucky to Van Buren, Ohio

We got up to a sunny day with no clouds but it was cold. The first long pants day since we left Sudbury. I talked to the Thunder Bay natives for a while and then disconnected. We were rolling by 8:15 AM.

Sandy likes taking pictures of redbud (should be pinkbud)

Shortly after 9:00 AM, we passed the exit for Richmond, Kentucky where the Best Western was located. This was the spot two years ago where the Wolfman's Wandering Rally was held and it holds good memories for us. On the north side of Richmond, we stopped at a Love's Truck Stop for fuel.

Typical Kentucky sedimentary rocks

The winds were quartering from the left rear this morning, but sharp gusts were occasionally catching us from the side. They used to say that Dale Earnhardt could see the wind on the superspeedways. I wish I had the same knack because maybe the gusts wouldn't take me by surprise.

As we proceeded north, we saw many Florida plates running the same direction we were. I'm not sure of the significance of this at this time of year, but we knew where the large number of Ontario licences were going. We were also passed by two ARCA Racing Series trailers heading back from Talladega. Their race was early in the weekend while the Sprint Cup race would be this afternoon.

ARCA trailer

The ARCA schedule

TJ told me that the enemy of any highway was water getting under the pavement. He said that if you put the right drainage layer underneath, a road should last forever. I guess that the people in northern climes didn't get the message because there were stretches here that were uncomfortable and we knew Michigan would be worse. I once saw a TV show on constructing the Autobahn in Germany. Their base is almost twice the depth of a North American freeway. I guess it is easier to build a road here on a reduced budget and let those who come after worry about it.

I considered taking the by-pass around Cincinnati but realized it was Sunday (retired folk often have trouble knowing what day it is) and decided to go through the middle of the city on I-75. Before we reached the Ohio line, we passed the famous Florence Y'all water tower, which had guys working on top of it. We stopped at the Flying J in Crittenden, Kentucky and got the propane tank topped off so we would have fuel to run the furnace when the temperature got below freezing at home. Gas price here was $3.899. Then we started down the long Covington Hill and across the Ohio River into the Buckeye State.

Florence Kentucky Y'all

This is an old Class B motorhome

Covington Hill with Cincinnati in the background

We made it through Cincinnati without problems. The highway out was posted at 55 MPH but I was doing 65 and getting passed by everyone. An overhead sign warned about a traffic accident at Exit 16 that was causing traffic problems but that exit came and went without us seeing anything. Up until now, these signs have been saying "Drive Smart - Watch For Motorcycles", a sentiment we share. The crosswinds picked up and got downright nasty in Ohio, threatening on occasion to tear the steering wheel out of my hands.

Warning about non-existent accident on I-75

Big flag out sideways in heavy crosswinds

Interesting name

I managed to find the NASCAR race on MRN radio and listened to the the cars circle the fast track at Talladega, Alabaama while wishing I could be watching. We stopped at an Ohio Rest Area for lunch and I called a KOA just over the Michigan state line. I got the call center and the lady told me they didn't have any sites over 40 feet. I had never encountered this before and called one a bit further south in Van Buren, Ohio, just north of Findlay. They had room so I booked a site. I also finished my list of goods for Canadian Customs. All this while the stationary RV was rocking back and forth in the wind.

Note that the "camera angle according to specifications" hasn't helped the rear view monitor at all

We finished the drive to the KOA without incident and were directed to our spot. This KOA had a large number of seasonal sites. Next to us in the transient area was a diesel pusher piloted by a retired cop from Timmins who complained that his arms were sore from fighting the wind. Tell me about it.

My shock of the day came as soon as I started hooking up. My first step was usually to get the surge protector and plug it into the campground 30 Amp outlet. But when I looked in the basement, the surge protector was missing. Now this isn't just any surge protector. It is a large unit that is so sophisticated it takes over two minutes to analyze a power feed before allowing any juice through. With all the circuits on a motorhome, especially expensive ones like the refrigerator, you can't be too careful (although Sherm laughs at me). I paid almost $250 for it. But I remembered changing my routine when I disconnected this morning and, instead of pulling the protector first and putting it in the compartment, I pulled the power cord and stowed it. Bad move. I called the Renfro Valley KOA and said they would look for it.

Since we planned to run all the way to Sudbury tomorrow, over 600 miles, and knew the night temperatures were still below freezing, I dumped the holding tanks and conditioned them each with 1/2 gallon of RV anti-freeze. I also did a full tire check. After the wind died down, I cranked up the TV antenna (no cable TV here) and, while the campground manager suggested we might get six stations, we actually got 14. Maybe the new Wingman antenna attachment does help.

After watching TV for a while, we shut it off and I cranked the antenna back down. Usually, it cranks all the way down firmly but, tonight, at got almost all the way down and then seemed to drop with a clunk. This will have to be checked out when we get home. Making a note to do so, we turned in for what would probably be our last night on the road.

Today's Route (297 motorhome miles):


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Ringgold Georgia to Mt. Vernon Kentucky

Rain pounded down on the roof most of the night. In the early morning, we woke to silence but then it started again. I got up and checked the weather radar to find a small straggling line was passing over us. Then I went back to bed and woke up in the morning to find the rain had passed and we were facing a decidedly cool and windy day.

The news told us the storm line had taken at least 13 lives, mostly in Mississippi and Alabama. Again, we reflected on the luck of our timing. I really don't want to go north either. It was -6C in Sudbury overnight and will stay cold until after we get back. However, after talking to people at Camping World yesterday, I have decided not to winterize. While below freezing, the overnight temperatures will not be severe and we can leave the furnace or ceramic heater on. The daytime temperatures will pose no problem and, by the 22nd, the freezing worries should be over.

With all the clothes out drying and the high humidity, we had a lot of condensation on the inside of the RV. After we left at 8:15, with all the roof vents open, this cleared up quickly. Rather than head straight north on I-75, we went for a quest for Boo Berry cereal. The General Mills website said that the only store that had it within a 50 mile radius was a WalMart in Lookout Valley. We drove across I-24 and checked it out. The website was wrong, but I bought a file and a bundle of new socks.

This WalMart was interesting because it sat at a nexus of sorts. From the parking lot, the distance to Sault Ste. Marie via Nashville and via Knoxville was within three miles and the estimated travel time was within three minutes. I decided we should do something different and take the Nashville route, so we headed west on I-24. The folly of my choice was soon apparent as we were buffeted by severe crosswinds that would have been tailwinds had we gone the other way. To top it off, the sky ahead of us was getting angry and black. Not being one to always stick to my guns, we turned around short of the climb to Monteagle and headed back the other way.

On the way back to Chattanooga, we encountered a traffic delay as I-24 was reduced to one lane in preparation for recovery crews righting a flipped semi trailer in the median. The merging lane was moving faster, as usual, as left lane vehicles merged early and others surged past them.  This stopped when a car and then a Swift truck moved to the left and executed a rolling road block. They stay in the merging lane but move at the speed of the other lane so that no cars can slip by and get ahead. The delay wasn't excessive and soon we were moving east again.

Flipped trailer along I-24

Just after 11:00 PM, we got back to I-75 and headed north with a tailwind in steady traffic. At one point, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a low yellow car moving up on us. When it went by, I saw it was a Lamborghini. Strangely enough, it was moving at the 70 MPH speed limit.

Lamborghini on I-75 in Tennessee

Through central Tennessee, we found a large number of religious radio stations. Listening in for a while, we approached Knoxville where two of the busiest highways in the USA, I-75 and I-40, run together for about 18 miles. Before we got to downtown Knoxville, we cut north on I-640 which by-passed the city proper. I don't remember this from past drives down I-75, but I like it. Once we turned due north, the winds shifted to coming across from our left and got to be a little unpleasant.

Crossing over some mountains, we passed many trees with pink blossoms on them. Descending to Jellicoe, we stopped at a Kentucky Welcome Center that offered us free WiFi for 15 minutes. If we needed longer, it would cost us. I checked the weather and got hope that there would be less wind tomorrow. Then I went inside and asked about the pink blossoms. A lady told me they were redbud. Outside, I spoke to a couple in an older Southwind Class A and found they were going home to Thunder Bay, Ontario. They had been in Biloxi, Mississippi for a couple of months but had also gotten as far west as Yuma. Sandy noted that a huge diesel pusher Prevost coach which pulled in next to us for a moment was being driven by a little white haired lady dressed in her Sunday best. She looked like Mother Goose but handled the big rig like a pro.

Redbud trees along I-75 in northern Tennessee

Welcome to Kentucky

Leaving the rest area, the rain started and the crosswinds picked up. It was about an hour to the Renfro Valley KOA near Mt. Vernon, just up the road from the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. The entrance road to the campground was narrow and almost straight up but signs assured us it was a one way street. At the top, I registered and a pretty young lady escorted us to our spot. It was cold, wet and windy and everyone was wearing jackets with hoods while I was still in my shorts. I got hooked up and, not long after, the Southwind from Thunder Bay pulled in. They had emigrated to Canada in 1969 after he served with the US Marines and then he had a career as a bush pilot. Interesting folks.

We talked to Jolene and father-in-law Harry on Skype and then had a supper of frozen dinners while watching TV. It seems the storms that followed us through Mississippi and Alabama and brought the rain to Chattanooga descended again into eastern North Carolina with a vengeance and the destruction and death toll were severe. After supper, we watched a movie and then went to bed listening to rain on the roof at a balmy 39F.

Today's Route (314 motorhome miles):


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Ringgold Georgia: Camping World and Supper

I woke up at 4:00 AM thinking about the trip north, whether I would have to winterize the water system and holding tanks due to freezing temperatures and just how I would do that. Unable to get back to sleep, I checked out the Internet but the official KOA WiFi system was throttled back so much I was unable to do anything useful. Then I went back to bed and caught a little more shut-eye.

Back up about dawn, I disconnected the utilities. We would be here another night but the motorhome was off to Camping World for an oil change and to get the backup camera monitor sorted out. We left shortly after 7:30 and were at the Camping World location, which straddles the state line between Georgia and Tennessee by 8:00. I unhooked the trailer and we went inside to find Eric. We learned that Eric had moved over to the service facility and Johnny, first day on the job, was replacing him.

Johnny prepared a work order to change the oil and filter, check out the problem with the monitor losing all contrast in bright sunlight and install a T-fitting to allow anti-freeze to be introduced to the water system for winterizing. He also asked the shop to take another look at installing a second house battery. He took the keys and we went off to the sales/waiting area. Soon, the shop got back to Johnny and said installation of a second battery was feasible so I told them to go ahead and do it.

After getting blogs caught up and talking to a few people, we went shopping in the store. I had a list of things we needed and then we got some more things that caught our eye. Soon, the shopping cart was full. This place is like WalMart for RV owners.

It was deja vu all over again as we waited for the motorhome to be ready and watched the weather roll in from the west. This was a huge system that started in the Gulf of Mexico and extended up through the south-eastern states with a thin, violent line of storms. It then curled up and around to the Dakotas, where the warm Gulf moisture met the cold air and was causing unseasonable snow. Before the RV was done at 3:00 PM, the rain heavily upon us along with thunder and lightning.

Johnny said the backup monitor problem was due to an incorrect angle of the camera. I told him that wasn't likely because I had tried a number of different angles. Unfortunately, the day was overcast and they weren't able to test it under the circumstances that caused the problem. My belief is that the lack of a contrast or day/night selection on this small monitor is where the problem lies. I had showed him photos of the poor pictures when we got there and said that if the problem persisted after the adjustment, I would send him more. We can take it to the CW in Knoxville on the Maggie Valley trip if the issue isn't resolved. What the fix might be is still unresolved.

Backup monitor view in bright sunlight

I asked Johnny to have the driver back the RV up to the trailer when they brought it back. He did, leaving it about one inch short of the hitch. I went out wearing one of those $1.00 ponchos made out of the same kind of plastic dry cleaners use to cover clean clothes. I almost suffocated myself getting into it. It didn't take much to get hooked up but, with the heavy rain pouring down, I got pretty wet. Then I brought the unit around by the door and we loaded our purchases.

Johnny at Camping World - Chattanooga Tennessee

The drive back to the KOA was interesting. We got on I-75 South in a driving downpour and moved along at about 40 MPH with four-way flashers on. The semis were doing about the same speed. At the campground, I put on my bathing suit under the plastic poncho along with Crocs and went out in the deluge to reconnect the utilities.

The rain eased before TJ and Jean showed up at the front gate at 6:30 to take us to supper once again. The restaurant was The Acropolis and I really don't know where it was because we turned a lot of corners. The lot was quite full when we got there but Tony found a spot. Soon after, Crystal showed up and we were soon shown to our table. Curtis skipped out of work and joined us just as we were ordering. It was another fine meal with excellent company. If I was Sherm, I would have gotten photos of the food, the people, the server and the restaurant. Unfortunately, I am not he and the camera stayed in the case. Tony did an end run on me for the bill saying that I could buy when they got to Canada. Thank you again, Tony and Jean.

By the time we got done, the rain had picked up again and lightning was flashing in the sky. The drive back to the campground was challenging with limited visibility and heavy traffic. They dropped us off right at the RV and we got inside quickly. Before we turned in, the 110 power went out a couple of times but came on again within minutes. I'm not sure if the grid went down or our surge protector tripped.

We watched the news of deadly storms across Mississippi and Alabama, the very area we came across yesterday. It was a good thing we weren't a day later. One side window by the dinette leaked a little at the bottom. This will bear looking into when we get home.

About the weather. While we were out west, we watched severe storm lines cross the east repeatedly and, now that we were here, they continued. I miss getting up in the morning to endless blue sky and warm temperatures. Until today, we hadn't seen rain since we were last in Tennessee five weeks ago and I am really beginning to think that the east sucks from a climate standpoint.

With wet clothes hung here and there to dry, we hit the sack.

Marion Mississippi to Ringgold Georgia

As usual, we were up about 6:00 AM. Wrong Turn and KT's wedding in North Carolina is now just a month away.

I was sitting at the table having breakfast and answering some Emails when the WiFi suddenly went off line. It didn't come back up before we were ready to head out. I spoke to Ken from Calgary and he said he and his wife were going to make a run north because the forecast was calling for severe storms in this area by tomorrow. I expect we'll get caught while we're in the Chattanooga area.

It was overcast when we got on I-20/59 headed east. Not far along, a Sheriff's car passed us at a high rate of speed followed by a second with lights and siren. They pulled a truck over up the road. There had to be more to the story than a simple speeding ticket if backup was required.

Pretty flowers along I-20/59

We crossed into Alabama just after 8:00 AM. One thing I noted about Mississippi roads was that they had a lot of suicide ramps. These are ramps where the traffic coming onto the freeway enters using the same lane as the traffic getting off just after. It makes for a very dangerous situation and I don't like them at all because the accelerating and decelerating vehicles are trying to thread between each other.

We got off the Interstate near Tuscaloosa and followed US 82 all the way to Blondy's house, where we planned to see how she was doing after recent elective surgery. The streets in her neighborhood are very narrow and I planned to go past her house and around a block to put us facing out on the side street. To my horror, the block was closed off. Once again, the GPS stuck it to me. While I was trying to figure out what to do next,  Blondy told me by phone that the block the other way was open so I negotiated three very tight right hand turns and then parked in her neighbor's horseshoe shaped driveway.

We enjoyed coffee and pound cake on Blondy's back deck and traded tales of medicine and travel. We will be seeing her again in a month in Maggie Valley. Before we left, she presented us with another pound cake which should last until we get home. We were back on the road by noon.

Parked in Blondy's neighbor's driveway

Blondy and Sandy on her back deck

Following the highway back to I-20/59, we continued east. Near Birmingham, a truck ahead of us started smoking heavily and I backed off in case something sudden happened, but it soon stopped and all was well. The overcast was moving away from us and leaving us under blue sky. Going past Birmingham on I-459, we passed a large Boy Scouts of America building with a replica of the Statue of Liberty nearby.

Smoking truck

Clouds moving away from us

Boy Scouts and the Statue of Liberty

On the other side of Birmingham, I saw a minivan on the right shoulder with a left turn signal on, so I moved to the left lane. When he pulled out, he cut across the highway to make a U-turn across the median but left the rear of his van sticking out in my lane. After a quick check in my mirror, I was able to swerve around him. On the plus side, my horn works just fine.

I-59 north of Birmingham is still in sad shape. If we had to drive this too many times, we would no longer have a motorhome. All that would be left would be a pile of bolts and miscellaneous loose pieces. North of Gadsden, we had a twelve mile stretch of single lane bounded on the left by a concrete barrier. One slip in attention could result in a lot of damage. Then, starting at the DeKalb County line, the right lane got very rough and we traveled most of the way to Georgia in the left lane.

Warning sign on I-59 - Gadsden Alabama

Entering Georgia, we soon took the ramp to I-24. Approaching Chattanooga, the westbound lanes were dead stopped. A trucker on the CB said the backup was 17 miles long and was due to an RV broken down in the right hand lane. Before we got to I-75 we had a few miles of slow going ourselves, but nothing like the other side.

Stopped westbound traffic on I-24

Slow eastbound traffic on I-24

Taking I-75 south, we crossed back over the Georgia line to Ringgold where we got off at Battlefield Parkway, named for the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863 where the Confederate forces defeated the Union forces and stopped their southern offensive.

We went to a WalMart in and picked up some groceries along with some Cherry Diet Pepsi and Cherry Diet Doctor Pepper for our son-in-law, Mike. We weren't able to find any Boo Berry cereal for Jolene but will keep looking. None of these products are available in Canada.

From WalMart, we returned to the KOA near I-75 where I had reserved a space for two nights. I pulled into the wrong space and was forced to exit the campground completely before I could get turned and make another attempt. The second time was a charm. I hooked up and called TJ about supper tomorrow night. Then I called Crystal, who only lives about 2.5 miles from the campground. It looks like we'll have a few people at the Greek restaurant that TJ is planning to take us to.

I opened the awning and dried it off because I left it out too late last night and the dew got to it. Then we watched TV and I did some work on the computer before turning in.

Today's Route (334 motorhome miles):


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Coushatta Louisiana to Marion Mississippi

We were up about 6:30 and had time to say goodbye to Pam before she left for work. Thomas made us a breakfast of bacon, sausage and bagels. By 8:00 AM, we were loaded, organized and on the road.

We'd like to thank Thomas and Pam for providing great hospitality. It was nice to experience the Louisiana culture first hand for a few days in their beautiful home. The food was outstanding and the dogs were entertaining. I enjoyed the conversations with Thomas without a pair of computers between us and we got to know Pam a lot better. By the end of today, Sandy said she already missed Coushatta. Anyway, thanks so very much to both of you for making this stop on our journey extra special.

Thomas and Pam's beautiful home

We drove up US 371 past Ringgold where Pam worked. Ringgold looks like a poor and destitute area with boarded up houses and businesses but, in the heart of the small town, there were quite a few churches. Interestingly, tomorrow night we will be in Ringgold, Georgia so this segment of the trip could be called Ringgold to Ringgold.

We reached I-20 at Minden where I stopped at a Love's trick stop and paid $3.759 for gas, the second highest price of the trip so far (the highest was California). Then we headed east over rolling hills that were big enough to cause the transmission to downshift if I didn't actively control the throttle. When we reached Monroe, I could smell a pulp mill. Since I spent time as a child living in Bathurst, New Brunswick with its pulp mill, the smell doesn't repel me the way it does normal people. In fact, it smells a little bit like home.

After Monroe, the hills leveled out for the rest of the state. The roadkill along this stretch consisted mostly of armadillos. As we approached the bridge over the Mississippi River to Vicksburg and the State of Mississippi, we encountered a single lane construction area and a series of Louisiana State Troopers. It looked like they were watching for someone special.

Troopers at the border with lights flashing

Welcome - but don't expect any rest areas

The road started to go through more hills. We didn't stop at the Visitor Center because it looked like it was at street level in Vicksburg and I didn't want to get into that. This proved to be a mistake because I was watching for a Rest Area along I-20. After 88 more miles, we found one but it was in a construction zone and was closed. Instead, we got off in Newton and stopped at a WalMart where Sandy made lunch. Then we went inside and bought water, pop and a few food items.

Red flowers along I-20 in Mississippi

Hills along I-20 in Mississippi

Mississippi National Guard helicopters

In Newton, I looked in our Camp Club USA guide book and found the Benchmark RV Park in Marion, near Meridian, Mississippi. I haven't used this before but they had a discount RV pull through site available and took my name down. This will give us a 50% discount on the regular rate.

We continued to Meridian where I fueled again at a Pilot truck stop. The Pilot's don't cater much to RV's either, with no separate filling or parking areas, but I do get points on my Flying J/Pilot card. The two chains have merged and maybe Pilot can become more RV friendly like the FJ's are.

We arrived in Marion and followed the GPS to the Benchmark Coach and RV Park. The office was closed when we got here but our name and assigned site were posted on the front door. The sites are just parallel pull-throughs without a lot of space but the pads are level poured concrete and they had been hosed down today. I got parked and hooked up and met some neighbors including Ken and his wife from Calgary. They've been on the road since December and aren't in a hurry to get home soon. At 4:30, I went up to the office and registered for the pricely sum of $16.05.

Benchmark Coach and RV Park - Marion Mississippi

I managed to get the blog for the 12th done and we watched a combination of American Idol and Survivior on the cable TV while having pork sandwiches for supper. As usual when we are in a park, we got to bed quite early.

Today' Route (331 motorhome miles):


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Coushatta Louisiana: More Louisiana Cuisine And Fishing

I woke up at 5:30 this morning with the middle finger of my left hand locked in the closed position. I have had trigger finger, a condition where the finger locks in a closed position, in several fingers for years but they haven't been too painful and unlock relatively easily. Last fall, this finger started having trouble and it is much more painful. Some day, the surgeon I have been referred to will call me for an appointment but I live with the condition for now. Anyway, this time it was locked as solid as I have ever seen it and I was afraid to pull to hard for fear of breaking something. After dancing around the room for a bit, I got a lucky angle and it popped free with quite a bit of pain in my palm but no apparent permanent damage.

After yet one more great Thomas prepared breakfast, he went to the hardware store and got some bright shiny chicken wire to augment the fences he put in the two back corners of the yard to keep Oscar out of where he is going to plant tomatoes.. Oscar didn't understand the purpose of the fence and just walked through the holes in the grid. After the chicken wire was attached to block the holes, he bumped into it and looked puzzled for a few moments. Then he got distracted, as usual, and moved onto something else.

Thomas installing chicken wire

Later in the morning, Thomas got out some of the crawfish tails he had saved the other night and started to remove the shells and veins. He took this mass of crawfish meat and used it to prepare a crawfish étouffée for lunch. The crawfish were in a thick gravy-like liquid surrounding rice that was covered with herbs and spices. I thought the mix of flavours was fascinating but Sandy found it a little too spicy for her tender palate and had the large shrimp left over from the other night. I will tell you without reservation that Thomas is a master in the kitchen.

Thomas preparing crawfish for the étouffée

After lunch, I went through my records and prepared a list of the purchases we will have to declare at the border on the way home. This included RV equipment we bought last November that stayed in Birmingham over the winter. It seems we have $3,300 worth of goods and only have a $750 exemption each so I'll probably spend some time in Customs and will have to fund our governments a little more.

After the list was done, I played fetch with Oscar by throwing his blue squeaky toy across the yard.. He would run like mad to get it but then thought I should chase him to get it back. I was able to regain the toy because, every time he came back, I would pick up his favourite bone and he would drop the toy to take it. Then I'd grab the toy and throw it again.

When Pam got home, we assembled another fishing expedition to the dock on the Grand Bayou Reservoir, as I now know it is called. Pam and Thomas fished while Sandy and I watched. They like to do this to decompress at the end of the day. Thomas caught one sunfish while Pam got the catch of the day. It was a piece of bark but it put up a good fight. On the way out, Sandy got a photo of a killdeer on its nest.

The fisherpersons

Catch of the day

Killdeer on its nest

Back at the house, we had spaghetti with meat sauce, salad and garlic bread for supper. It was very good but I'm glad I didn't bring my scale with me on this trip. Then we watched a new episode of Deadliest Catch (we won't get this in Canada for months) and had apple pie before turning in for the night.

Coushatta Louisiana: Fishing

Morning scenes at Thomas and Pam's house

The always present Oscar

Thomas has a green thumb

The old barn

The pool and our rolling condo

Thomas made another great breakfast this morning and then took Sandy and I down to his favourite fishing spot. We set up on his dock and got the rods ready. I don't think I've had a line in the water in over forty years but got my hook baited OK. For me, it amounted to an exercise in feeding fish as the little ones nibbled the worms off my hook but Thomas caught a few sunfish, or bluegills as I knew them when I was young. Sandy also caught one and almost got a turtle.

Sandy and Thomas on the dock

Patience is a virtue

The fish looks bigger if you hold it closer to the camera

We were doing well until Sandy looked behind us and saw a black cloud moving our way. From the time we first saw it until the storm hit was less than five minutes. We got everything back in the truck in time.

The storm is coming

Almost here

Driving through the rain, we returned to Coushatta and stopped at Bailey's Sandwiches to pick up hamburgers and french fries. These burgers are hand made and make me think of the Silver Bullet fare back home. As the Mainers say, finestkind. Probably not too good for the arteries, though.

Back at the house, I got totally caught up on the blog and then we engaged in some deep conversation that, if anyone listened, probably could have solved most of the problems of the world.

Sandy got this hummingbird when it wasn't humming

Oscar stole Thomas's Croc and used it for a pillow

After Pam got home, supper consisted of bass and perch, hushpuppies and fries. Sandy Skyped Kim and, although Jolene had gone to bed, we got to see Robyn. We're looking forward to seeing them over Easter Weekend back in Sudbury.