Sparky's BA-A-A-A-C-K!

From D.C.... Hi, honey, I'm HOME! Eldy ought to know, 'cuz he picked me up this evening. I talked his ear off all the way home, telling him everything I did, and peppered him with questions about all our blogging friends, the motorhome, the weather.....and he talked MY ear off telling me everything that went on with the family this week, the grandkids, the neighbors....(Nobody got a word in edgewise, laughs E.)

This is a short blog just to let everyone know we are back online...Woo-hoo! Sparky had a great time flying...well, sort of....she LOVES airports and everything in them...the food, (of COURSE! laughs E.) the decor, the planes--Frontier has its tails painted, and Southwest has its wildly colored orange, blue and red planes. Sparky loves looking at the sky and scenery below, and of course, people watching at the airport is a great way to pass the time while you wait for your flight....the actual flights? That's another story...she has trouble with her ears, even using the AIR PLANES--those funky spiral/corkscrew rubber ear plugs that are supposed to equalize the air pressure as you ascend and descend, but she still has trouble with ear pain....She forgot to take a decongestant to help with that! Flights were uneventful and Sparky arrived in D.C. Tuesday evening, met at the Metro train station by her daughter, Kelly....They rode the Metro 15 minutes to Kelly's apartment in Springfield, VA. and there Sparky got acquainted with Moxie, Kelly's little puppy. You'll see her soon.....She was adorable!

Plans were made for the following day to HIT THE MOST AWESOME GROCERY STORE on the east coast---Wegman's....We'll tell you all about it tomorrow...see you then!

Where's Eldo? The BLOG is Going on Vacation!

Sorry, everybody! We need to take a break for a few days..Sparky did not bring her computer to D.C. and her daughter is in grad school. When we are not doing something cool like riding the Metro, checking out the monuments and visiting the National Museum of Crime and Punishiment (which we did yesterday), Kelly really needs her computer for her graduate studies....I was having difficulties working with my photos  on a different compuer, so thought it would be easier all the way around to just wait till I get back.

So, the blog will be back online when I get back from D.C. and get rolling again.  Monday morning I'll have LOTS of photos, lots of fun things that we did, and adorable photos of Kelly's German shorthair "pocket" pointer puppy, Moxie.. Moxie is a really adorable smaller version of a German short haired pointer, that's why Kelly calls her her "pocket pointer"......We'll see you Monday morning!  Bye for now.......

Sparky is in Washington, D.C.!

Yesterday was a LONG travel day, starting at getting up at 5:30 AM...Eldy dropped me off at the South Bend Airport to catch the bus to Midway Airport. Nice bus ride, about two and a half hours to get there...three stops and one transfer. Midway Airport has gotten BIG! But it's a whole lot easier to get around....It's been awhile since I've flown, but security proceedures were efficient and not too much of a wait...So,me of the airports are now doing the "Chat Up" with you as part of your screening..."Where are you going today? How long are you going to be there? Who are you visiting?" It's a good thing they didn't ask me...I would have been tempted to say, "It's none of your business!" But wait a minute...yes, it is! They've got to screen for problems in different ways...Whatever works to help keep us safe in our air travel is ok with me...What was puzzling, was anybody 12 and under doesn't have to take off their shoes! They can make my mom, who was over 90 at the time and in a wheelchair take off her shoes, but 12 year olds and under DON'T???? That's age discrimination! And I wouldn't put it past terrorist organizations from other countries to use young kids as "weapons"....Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason to regulations, right? (OK, Sparky, you can get off your soapbox now, tell us the rest of your trip! says E.)   Hark! A voice from Indiana! It's ELDO!

You will be hearing from him now and then...mostly weather reports and Solitaire scores, lol!  He said there's supposed to be 3" of rain today and 35 m.p.h. winds...yuck! Weather in D.C. is decent...seventies and cloudy...

Back to yesterday's trip! Had an hour layover in Atlanta which went very quickly...it's always fun to people watch...Had a lady try to pass off a HUMONGOUS duffle bag as her second allowed personal item-"But, it's my PURSE!"  If that was her purse, my Honda CRV is  my motor scooter! Sorry, lady, you're gonna have to check it, they told her....

Kelly met me at the Metro terminal at Washington D.C. Reagan airport and off we went to have a quick supper at a local Mexican Restaurant. It was GREAT to see her and she has lots planned for us these next few days...See you at the Crime and Punishment Museum tomorrow!
P.S. Having trouble with not having my Mac tools and photo program to work with photos, plus Kelly has an aging PC. Sorry that I won't be able to post as many photos! And the blog will be a little shorter (which might be a good thing!)  See you later!

That Darn Blogger! And Other Stuff...

A couple of new followers are following us on our travels, but don't show up on Blogger when you go to look at who they are. Our apologies for not being able to mention you or your blog if you have one, but we appreciate the readership! Don't know why Blogger is acting funky or if it's just my computer..The count is increasing, but no names are showing up. What's up with that?

It makes me nervous to think about glitches in Blogger. I have this fear that my over 450 posts and favorite photos are going to disappear one of these days...(SH-H-H-H! You'll jinx the blog! warns Eldo.) I'm always of the opinion that if you SAY something might happen, maybe it won't. I've been trying to take computer guru Rick's (Rick and Paulette's) suggestion about importing (or is it exporting?) the blog to my desktop so I have a backup, but have been having trouble with the Mac in doing that....(Better do it soon before all is lost, woman!) Yes, dear, I'm working on it......

By the way...Not only does Elkhart have lots of wonderful places to see, lots of things to do, and great restaurants...it has ELK! Elk, as in elk ART, Elkhart, get it? "The town with heart".... Tee hee hee.......We've seen towns with decorated athletic shoes, bison, elephants, and now we've seen elk in Elkhart....Who knew?

River walk, Elkhart

If you drive around town trying to see these elk--TOO LATE! YOU MISSED THEM!  But they were cool....Maybe they will have them again next year? Downtown Elkhart has really spruced itself up...It has torn down some dilapidated manufacturing plants and really enhanced the river area....There's a great walking/biking path along the river, and the landscaping/observation points are really pretty....A nice park and pavilion are in the middle of town as well...check it out when you are in the area some time...We recommend a fabulous restaurant (although expensive) called the 5-2-3 Restaurant on Main Street in the heart of downtown--fabulous steaks, ribs and an awesome lettuce wedge with blue cheese/rosemary dressing...We won't be visiting it this time around, but we've tried it several times in the past.  For a special occasion, it is truly wonderful! Stay tuned for Sparky's reports on Washington, D.C. coming soon.....Bye for now....

Everybody's Got Baggage

When you travel, that's what I'm talkin' about! Sparky is getting ready to go to Washington, D.C. tomorrow....Woo-hoo! (Wa-a-a-an-n-n-h! What am I gonna do for five days! moans E.) Play golf, go visit friends and the kids, wax the RV? Conveniently forget to shave? lol! Since Sparky is the activity planner, Eldo is going to be just a little lost without his planning partner.....He'll do fine. Now, the cooking part? That's another story! Fast food, here we come! (It's not like I'm going to be missing a lot of home cooked meals, explains E.)

But the blog, on the other hand, might be taking a little hiatus for a few days...Sparky is not taking her computer with her in order to travel ultra lite, so if there's a blogging break on her part, she will announce that in the blog....

Here's how she travels ultra light----a little 17" X 11" carry on, a knapsack full of knitting (hope they allow circular needles on board the flight--the TSA says you can have knitting needles, no sharp scissors but only safety scissors), and my fanny pack. Got the ticket, phone and she's ready to go!

We're leaving EARLY in the morning...Eldy's getting a tooth pulled, so I'm taking the bus from South Bend to Midway Airport in Chicago so he won't miss his appointment.  He'll drop me off in S. Bend and then head to the dentist...(Wa-a-a-an-n-nh! says E., holding his jaw in mock pain.) Nurse Sparky will just have to call in and check from afar for the next few days. But I know his kids will be checking in with him now that they know he is getting a tooth pulled. (E. protests "It's a conspiracy!")....Eldy is NOT very good about following doctor instructions, so Nurse Sparky and assistants Brian and Kristi (Eldy's kids) will definitely be checking on him!  See you in Washington, D. C. with possible reports from Elkhart, IN.....

The Fall Fest is ON!

We just had it at Eldy's son's house instead and it was a great decision to move it indoors! The wind gusts were too much all day long and it was too cold to have all the kids at our campground site. More room at Brian's to spread out to carve pumpkins, more inside room for everybody to stay warm and everything worked out great! First, the pumpkin carving...This is SERIOUS business getting the "goop" out...

Some of the kids used the Pumpkin Master's carving kits that you can find at Walmart and lots of drug stores...and a couple of the girls decided to carve their own faces. The Pumpkin Master carving kits come with little tools--saws, scoops and paper designs. You tape the paper to the pumpkin and poke little holes all around the outlines. Remove the paper, then carve out the dotted line parts and VOILA! A cool pumpkin!

Trevor, Eldy's youngest grandchild, did NOT want to touch the yucky stuff, so he put on latex gloves to avoid touching the stuff...He's no dummy, he had Sparky take every other turn with him scooping the goop out!

The grandkids had friends over....Everybody carved pumpkins, even Eldo and his son, Brian. We had a pumpkin with the thickest, hardest shell and it was very difficult to get that one carved. Men to the rescue!

Eldy's granddaughter and her friend decided to get "dressed up" in hopes of getting their picture taken. It worked!

Next, a great cookout mastered by Ted, Eldy's son-in-law...He's a great BBQ chef and he cooked yummy burgers on the grill for all of us....After supper, we had the kids bob for apples. THAT was HILARIOUS!!! They really got into it....

Emma's into it!

Katelynne got one.....

She did it!

Eldy's son got into the act as well....and of course, he got one, too!

One of Eldy's grandsons got one....

And, Eldy's youngest grandson tried........

                               And he tried.....



And he even tried rotating his body around the bowl thinking that would help.....

But he wouldn't give up, even though he has no front teeth! He was very persistent and didn't get upset..a great lesson in patience and perseverance for all of us.  He hung in there with his pumpkin carving kit, too, and did a great job of carving a lot of the pumpkin himself! Everybody got a treat bag for trying!

Sparky and Eldo had a great time with all the kids today, big and little...We should make this an annual event--Sparky and Eldo's Fall Fest!

Sparky and Eldo's Fall Fest?

We had severe wind today but by golly, we were going to have a pumpkin carving and BBQ no matter what! Sparky is nuts about Pumpkin Master carving kits and wanted the grandkids to have a shot at carving a "master" pumpkin......The kits are GREAT at making you look like a master carver, turning out really cool pumpkins! We'll show you later, but first things first..... The awning toppers were in trouble!

We waited all afternoon for the winds to break so the kids could come to the campsite. Wind gusts continued up to 45 m.p.h. The wind was so strong! My table decorations were blowing all over the place...waa-a-an-n-h! The topper over the biggest living room slide was stretching to the max. Eldy decided to make another bungee cord/rope tie down like he did for the bedroom slide. He hooked two bungees to the two ends of the rope, threw it like a lasso over the top of the slide, and on the first try, was able to get the rope and the bungee over the full length of the topper, and down the other side. Then he attached the bungees underneath on the slide bars.




Even with the bungees and the rope holding down the topper, it was still stretched to the max.

The excess really worried us, especially after we tried to bring in the slide and the canvas remained all the way out. So we called Coach Net, the RV Roadside Service that we paid for, and they sent out a mobile service called Michiana Crossroads Services--a heavy truck/trailer and RV mobile repair unit. Rod Barrett is the master mechanic who came out to help us today, and he was excellent.  He arrived within the hour, and by the time he got here, the spring mechanism on the awning topper roller recovered a bit from the constant wind, and during a brief period of no wind, the awning topper retracted itself into a more normal position! Basically, by the time the tech service guy arrived, the problem had fixed itself! He checked things out anyway, tension seemed ok to him, we ran the slide back in and out, and the topper performed the way it was supposed to! Geesh! It was like--deja view all over again just like the car refusing to make the noise yesterday for the mechanic!

Now that the topper is behaving itself, we kept waiting for the wind to die down, but it remained gusty even late this afternoon...Change of plans! Sparky packed up some of the table decorations and we headed over to Brian's house, Eldy's son....we'll have our fall fest over there...Hopefully, we'll carve the pumpkins outside, BBQ, and have a campfire later! We'll see you later!