Heading Towards Wisconsin

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Our next destination is West Bend Wisconsin. Each summer, the town has a mega geocaching event that brings 100's of cachers to the area. Our schedule won't have us in town for the event, but there are plenty of good caches to attempt none-the-less. The drive will be about 600 miles and keeping with our "not in a hurry" pace, we decide to break it into three 200 mile days.

Our first day gets us most of the way across Indiana with a stop in Crawfordsville. It's just a Walmart, but it is miles off the expressway so road noise is minimal. We park right next to a pond (okay just a retention pond) and discover they have a reasonable wi-fi signal. I had not planned on being here so I didn't have nearby caches loaded yet. When I checked, the nearest cache was 8 feet away!!! Sure enough, I look out the window and there is a lamp post right there. LPCs are not our favorite but it will do. Hope no other cachers came by hoping to log this one while we were here.

This is our sunset view at Walmart

We selected a campground for our next stop. Hickory Hollow near Utica Illinois is part of Passport America so it is only half price for the night. We got in early enough to explore the area and discovered there are multiple state parks within a short drive and Illinois does not charge to visit them! Our first destination was Starved Rock State Park - voted #1 attraction in Illinois. We stopped at the visitor center and caught the last half of the video talking about the history of the park.

Now to explore the park a bit and do some of the geocaches and earth caches. One of our destinations was a cache with 60+ favorite points. IL River Byway Starved Rock Lodge cache was supposed to be some elaborate Italian bench but as much as we looked, we couldn't seem to find it! We decided to head into the lodge to ask about it only to discover the bench just inside the door.

There were also some trail hikes  both at Starved Rock and nearby Matthiessen State Park. Since I was nursing a sore leg, we limited our hike to just two earth caches. The first is named St Louis Canyon. The first quarter mile is simply down a closed road to the former parking lot. As we start the trail we discover sand in between all the rocks. Not just any sand but the kind you would find on some beautiful Florida beach. We followed the trail along a little stream for a bit longer and started to here two things - the sound of people laughing and falling water. As we came around the bend we were greeted with the sight of a 80 foot tall waterfall. It turns out the type of sandstone here produces the fine sand found all downstream of the falls.

Next was a walk to the Giant Bathtub in Matthiessen State Park. We had a little trouble with our navigation using the handheld GPSr once we were down at water level. Probably a function of the tall walls on either side of us. Eventually we just followed the trail signs and headed towards the voices of others already enjoying the "Bathtub". On our way there, we spotted this tree that was still managing to hang on even though a large portion of its roots were exposed.

Even though the campgrounds are nearly on top of I-80, we were in one of the sites at the rear and had the air conditioning on so we had a good night sleep for the drive into West Bend.

10 Days in Cincy

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Our first extended stay now that we're on the road was in the Cincinnati area. I always enjoy coming back here when we have the chance. Years ago I went to college at the University of Cincinnati so I am fairly familiar with the town. And better yet, I have two sisters and several other family members living in the general area.

On the Saturday before the 4th, we had a family get together and wedding shower at home of one of my sisters. Getting to spend time with family is always a fun time. Catching up with everyone and hearing their stories and explaining our downsizing trials and tribulations was a great way to spend the afternoon.  

The evening brought its own excitement. A home, no more than half a mile away, started shooting fireworks. Initially we were thinking they were just going to be the typical homeowner setting off what they had bought at a store. But a few minutes into it, we realized this was a professionally done spectacular! As my one brother in law stated, this guy must have "stupid money" to be able to put on such a show.  It lasted at least 40 minutes and was better than most fireworks displays I have seen in my life.  

We stayed at East Fork State Park for the 10 nights. It is a very nice park with lots of sites, although very few with full hook-ups and we were not lucky enough to reserve one of them in advance. Surprising to us, we did not have too much trouble conserving water and holding tank capacity for the whole time we were there. Maybe we will do okay when we head out west and do some serious boon docking? 

The other great feature about this park is the geocaching. This past April, there was a large geocaching event here at the park, and a whole slew of new caches were placed. In between family visits, we managed to get in some reasonably good hikes with some high number of caches found. We didn't come close to clearing out the park, so there will still be plenty of caches for us on our return trips to the area. 

We also got lucky and happened to catch up with a couple we had only met last year at a Newmar rally in West Virginia. We knew they were planning on going full time in their motor home, but hadn't stayed in touch to realize they had already done so about 3 months earlier than us. They happened to be back in the area as well so we spent a few hours catching up and trading downsizing stories.  

As it turns out, this couple was staying at the FMCA campground area in Newtown. We had been considering becoming members before, but the convenience of the camp here to my family was the clincher for us. I suspect when we are back in town, that's the place we will be staying. 

We also managed to at least sketch out what our travel plans will be for the next 9 weeks until we will be back in Cincy. A couple travel days to get to West Bend WI. From what we know of that area, it is a geocache rich region since they have a large event here each year. Our schedule will not put us there during the event, but it still should be good.  This will also be a good spot to do some day trips to a few towns where my wife spent time as a kid. She has all sorts of places she wants to try to find. I suspect it will be a real test of her memory.  

After West Bend, we will head up just a bit further north to Door County Wisconsin - a peninsula just northeast of Green Bay. Then it's onto the UP of Michigan for awhile before stopping in the Mackinac Island area. We haven't scoped out the rest of the trip south in case we run out of time before needing to get back to Cincy.

And the Journey Begins

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I had expected that after getting rid of most of our possessions in the prior nine months, the last week of preparations would be easier. Maybe I should have remembered my working days where those final project details seem to take way more effort to complete than I had anticipated. It seemed like every time I walked into a room, I got distracted from what I had been doing and started something else that needed to be tackled. Even though we are too old to pull all-nighters anymore, there were a couple very short nights of sleep in order to get things done. My stream of consciousness cleaning style may not have been the most efficient method, but it eventually worked.

Many of the things that weren't good enough for donation to Goodwill seemed to disappear as we set them at the curb. Sometimes I wasn't even halfway up the driveway when the car would stop to grab some treasure. And for those things that were suitable for Goodwill, the lady was impressed with our organizational skills - apparently she doesn't get many donations from a couple of former engineers!

The highlight of those last days had to be when we disabled that damned CraigsList account. No more calls, texts or emails asking if it was still available, or if we would take $25 for something we just posted at $100.

For others wanting to tackle this same process, we have a word of advice: set your move out date 1 or 2 days ahead of the actual date, and stick to it. We managed to get everything done, but ran out of time to say proper goodbyes to some of our friends. We were just hitching up the Jeep in the driveway when our lawyer called to say the closing went off without any issues.

Our first planned stop was in the Cincinnati area, but the reservation wasn't until Friday, so we had Wednesday and Thursday night to kill. It worked out fine given how drained we were. The first two nights were far from glamorous, but they were just what we needed. A Walmart stop near Erie and a Cabela's near Columbus. There were even a few geocaches at each stop that allowed us to get out and stretch our legs.

An added bonus in Columbus was the Skyline Chili only a mile walk from Cabela's AND a newly opened Graeters Ice Cream within walking distance. They still had their "Grand Opening" signs in the windows. Of course is would have been better if it had been a 6 mile walk instead of 2 miles.

Here's a picture of our celebration on our first night being homeless. Champagne and chocolate has been a favorite choice of ours going all the way back to our college co-op days. We made sure our dog Shelby got in on the action, even if it was just in spirit.

Part of the time we spend in Cincinnati will be to figure out what we plan on doing for the 2 months before needing to come back here for a mid September wedding. The rough thinking is a loop around Lake Michigan, but normally we would have planned out all our stops by now. It will be interesting to see just how free form we allow ourselves to get. I guess being the consummate planners is one of the bigger "ruts" we need to get out of.

The Countdown Continues

We are now down to 11 more nights before hitting the road full time. Since our last post, we have been working hard to empty the house of our "stuff". To say it has been a lot of work would be a bit of an understatement. I think originally, the problem had been more of an emotional one of parting with my possessions. But now I am ready to go, so it has simply become a logistical one, just a very time consuming task. The good news is that we are so very close to being there. 

This past Friday, Saturday and Sunday was our big moving sale. We managed to have the things setup in advance but we were up until nearly 2 AM pricing items. Ten minutes before we were to open, our neighbor walked up the driveway to help us with the sale. He commented how many people were waiting out front. I assumed he was yanking my chain since he can be that way at times. 

See , we have a 1200 foot long driveway, and are unable to see the road from our house. I had placed an "Open at 9AM" sign on a wimpy sawhorse at the end of the driveway to keep early birds out. As I rode the zero turn down to get the sawhorse, I saw about 30 people standing there with cars parked all along the road. Apparently the sign had worked. Once they saw me, they started up the driveway, looking a lot like the crowds you see at stores on Black Friday morning!

As I passed them, I suggested they get in their cars and drive up, but most opted to walk. I'm guessing that some of these people haven't walked 2 tenths of a mile in some time, but fortunately I did not find any customers passed out along the driveway when I checked later! In hind sight, I really wish I had mounted my GoPro camera in the corner of the garage and done a time lapse video of the first day of the sale. 

By the time the sale ended, we estimate that 80% of the stuff sold. Even better, two Craigslist buyers stopped by to look at the John Deere tractor, and the Ram pickup truck that weekend and both of those vehicles sold and are now off our books. Obviously selling these was good, but after having a chance to get to know each buyer, I feel like both my vehicles have both found great homes. The truck will even get to go on some camping trips as the tow vehicle for a young couples' new travel trailer much like it had for us when I first got it. 

After the sale, we allowed ourselves to take a several day break when my sister and brother in law came up to visit. We had a nice time and managed to get in some winery visits as we explored the Finger Lake region of New York. For those of you unfamiliar with this area, there are hundreds of wineries scattered all around the Finger Lakes. It will definitely be one of the many things we will miss once we leave the area and will be one of the reasons we will use to come back in the future. 

Now the work is to pack up the rest of the things that are worth donating to the Ronald McDonald house. And recognizing that some of the stuff is only worthy of the recycling center or the landfill. Some friends stopped by tonight to get both our king and queen beds. So tonight we will actually be sleeping in the motor home - even if it's just parked in our driveway. Hard to believe, but it has been nearly 9 months since we have camped in her. 

I suspect we will be on the road by the time we do our next post. First stop, the Cincinnati area for a family get together. It will be fun to see most of the relatives and will likely fit in a visit or two to Skyline Chili and Graeters Ice Cream, some of my favorite from my college days there. 

T Minus 1 Month and Counting

If everything goes as planned, we will be out of our house and living full time in our motor home a month from today!

After getting laid off from our jobs in early 2013, we decided to look at it as an opportunity to retire early and travel more. We traded in our 24 foot travel trailer for a 2001 Itasca Suncruiser 33V to allow us more room for extended trips and get our feet wet with a motor home. After about a year and a half with the gasser, we had a better idea of what size, features and layout would work well for us. A year ago, we found our current 2012 Newmar Dutch Star 3734 diesel pusher at a little dealer in Texas and started heading back north with a new found appreciation of the comforts and livability it provides.

Last year we decided to get out of our rut and sell the house in order to travel more without needing to worry about things like frozen pipes, mowing the lawn and all the other concerns that come with owning a sticks and bricks home. Not that we didn't love our home. We bought the 49 acres in western New York about 19 years ago, designed and built a beautiful timber frame and have lived in it for just over 17 years. If the travel bug hadn't bitten us, it would have been a great place to retire to.

Since deciding to sell the house, we really haven't had time to travel much. There were some minor home maintenance items to take care of last fall. But the bigger job was to shed the bulk of our possessions. We really did not understand just how much we had accumulated over the years. But with hundreds of Craigslist sales, gifting some tools and furniture to family and making donations to various charities, we have made some good headway. With a major garage sale coming up, we expect to have the house empty in time for our closing.

We intend to use this blog to keep our family and friends up to date with our travels. I expect to upload lots of photos of our journeys, give campground reviews and even tell about our geocaching adventures. There might not be many posts until we actually start traveling – we'll see.