On Things Along the Way 35

For photo's:  http://willemcoetzee.blogspot.com/2014/10/fotos-39.html

During the trip to Illinois Beach State Park  http://dnr.state.il.us/Lands/landmgt/parks/R2/ILBEACH.HTM  we were further entertained by the beautiful Wisconsin landscape, initially along I-90 and later eastward toward Milwaukee along I-94, bypassing the city and reaching our destination slightly north of Waukegan, Illinois,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waukegan,_Illinois    before 1:00 pm on September 26. As Willem was waiting to deal at the registration desk, he noticed RV’s lining up for the same behind ours outside, so when his turn came and he was shown the three sites available on the map, he declined driving by to assist in the decision making and grabbed site 375 close to the water’s edge – a great location. Clearly, 24 hours later we would have been out of luck for the four day need but there we had it for 5 days!

Susan had meanwhile surprised Herine with the news that we were a day early, about which she was very pleased. She was leaving for an overnight concert performance commitment in Detroit, Michigan, the next morning and would have missed her parents’ arrival the next day, according to the original schedule. So, after having set up camp and studied the train schedule to Evanston,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evanston,_Illinois , Fickie and Stella dropped Willem and Susan off at Waukegan Station for the one hour commute to Evanston, where Herine met them shortly after 7:00 pm. The Fick’s had 4 days at the lake by themselves, and the opportunity to visit Chicago by train   https://www.google.com/search?q=chicago&client=firefox-a&hs=QVS&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=np&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=zV49VJCdPImnyAT954KoCw&ved=0CFYQsAQ&biw=1329&bih=472   while Willem could at last meet and spend time with his youngest grandchild, Teo; Susan having been very much a part of his life virtually since birth (On Things Along the Way 18 and 23).

Matt, who is a pilot in addition to having a career as an acoustical engineer with Shure Corporation, had an instruction obligation at Waukegan Airport on Saturday, after which he stayed to work on the airplane he is building https://www.vansaircraft.com/public/rv7.htm . This provided ample quality time for Willem and Susan with Teo, although he checked out for the better part of it – being only 5 calendar months old. At that age things could have been very different but true to reputation he really is an easy guy – lots of fun when not engaged in his activity of choice, sleeping. It presented the opportunity to relieve Matt of cooking, other than firing up his grill.

Matt took us with Teo for an extended hike along the lake front  http://www.cityofevanston.org/parks-recreation/lakefront-beaches/  and Herine got back from Detroit on Sunday afternoon.  It was wonderful to see her happy about her first major performance with 5^th House Ensemble http://fifth-house.com/ since Teo threw her off course 2 months ahead of schedule. It is an adjustment for them with the new family member but by the time Herine has to go to Germany for a week in January they will have some experience under the belt.  As for Sunday evening, we had roast beef in the oven.

 Monday was Herine’s day off and the weather made it possible to go for another long walk with Teo in the neighborhood. Liz recently solicited a recipe input from Susan, so Willem volunteered to prepare the same for dinner that evening: Fall Potluck Dish: 2 lb smoked or Kielbasa sausage diagonally  cut in 1/2 in. thick slices; 4-6 apples peeled  halved,  quartered and micro waved for 3 min; 1 1/2 lb potato’s peeled, 1” cubed and cooked; 1 lb frozen  red, green, yellow pepper slices diced micro waved;  2 large onions halved, quartered and micro waved; 16 ounces canned diced tomatoes with liquid, 1-2+ T oregano, 1 t powdered garlic,  1 t ginger powder, 2+ T sugar. Combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Serve with rice.

It went off well and after dinner Willem asked Matt to show a DVD, The Great Southwest -- An American Adventure: National Parks and Monuments – Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, Capitol Reef, Monument Valley, Natural Bridges, The Grand Staircase. Grand Canyon which he had bought for Susan who missed out on that part of the trip and also to entice their children to take the 5^th wheel and truck and go see it for themselves. Neither of them had been there before, except Matt, who once did a trip by small airplane to California and touched down briefly to refuel at the Monument Valley landing strip.

On Tuesday Herine had a mid-day meeting, Teo repeated his exemplary behavior we’ve got accustomed to and we were off to Matt’s parents, David and Frances, who invited us for a cookout toward the evening. Willem got to see the progress that Matt had made on his airplane and although it still looks like much work remains to be done, perhaps Matt can get the project off the ground literally by the end of next summer. As many times before, dinner was outstanding and it was a bonus that Matt’s sister, Lori, could join us. Matt returned home with Teo, while Herine dropped Willem and Susan off at the campground and at least got to see Fickie and Stella before their departure to South Africa. The next morning we set out on the long drive around the southern end of Lake Michigan for Pokagon State Park in Indiana http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokagon_State_Park . Close to Elkhart, Indiana, we stopped at the RV/MH Hall of Fame, a very attractive museum of things related to RVing http://www.rvmhhalloffame.org/ . And then on to Pokagon, IN.

Like what happened so often in the past, this place was a stunning surprise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t5qOaBjDIQ . While Willem and Susan drove to the town of Angola to pick up a few food items (and encounter red and green grapes on sale, resulting in overindulgence) and fill up the tank of the truck, Fickie and Stella took advantage of the late afternoon sunlight for photography. The next morning we reluctantly left this nice place for two days at Sandusky, Ohio.

Although not directly on Lake Erie, http://www.crystalrock-campground.com/ is close to the main attractions of the area. But it is the campground itself that justifies a special note. The current owners are a lovely couple who acquired the property in a somewhat rundown and neglected condition two years ago. This summer they reached a period of full occupancy, which even last year wasn’t expected within years to come. Needless to say they’ve work hard to get the place in terrific shape and are not yet done with an expansion program. They commented that they should have left their good jobs 15 years ago, given how much they enjoy what they are doing. These folks are people’s people and they surely deserve to see rewards for their courage, efforts and demeanor. The weather deteriorated and Friday was a rainy day. However, Wunderground maps suggested a break between 2 and 4 pm, so we stayed busy with indoors activities. Lo and behold, the break came and we went sightseeing on the lakefront and light house and have some photographs to show for the effort. We didn’t reach the main summer attractions of amusement parks at Sandusky  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandusky,_Ohio    and the two hour window closed on us with a ferocious rain storm. Two accidents on the opposite side of the highway had traffic backed up for a mile or two and we deemed ourselves fortunate to return unscathed to our comfortable camp setting for the night. On Saturday morning we left for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the KOA campground at Madison.

http://koa.com/campgrounds/madison-pittsburgh/ is a nice facility, although a bit of a distance from downtown. But ideally situated to the east and on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for our final trek to Philadelphia, where it all started more than a year ago. We attended a church service on Sunday morning and continued with sightseeing in Pittsburgh – Carnegie Mellon (where Herine once studied) and Pittsburgh Universities, the city area etc. https://www.google.com/search?q=Pittsburgh&client=firefox-a&hs=zMS&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=np&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=wlw9VPKSE9iiyAS12YGwCQ&ved=0CFkQsAQ&biw=1329&bih=472      The Chinese meal that Fickie was looking for was enjoyed at the Monroeville Mall and we were back in camp to get packing done. Since the RV was going to be left for servicing in Westchester, Fickie and Stella had to gather all they wanted to take back to South Africa when we arrived and so did Willem and Susan with what they would need for the next two weeks. We left Madison at around 10 on Monday and it was an uneventful drive through pretty Pennsylvania countryside. Arriving on target shortly after 3:00 pm at Stolzfuss RV it took some time to unload and deal with all of the servicing aspects. After 15 months on the road Willem wanted the carpeting replaced in addition to regular inspection and odds and ends taken care of. We got to Hans and Liz’s before 5 and it was great to step into a home again!

On Tuesday Willem returned to Stolzfuss to gather a few forgotten items for Fickie, carried on to Camping World to exchange a TV receiver that went  defective a couple of months ago, while Fickie and Stella finalized blog photo’s for this placement.  The formal conclusion of our trip through North America came on Wednesday October 8, when Willem and Susan saw Fickie and Stella off at Kennedy Airport in New York https://www.google.com/search?q=new+york+city&client=firefox-a&hs=2k7&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=np&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=l109VMLSCJGMyASpzoKwBw&ved=0CFIQsAQ&biw=1329&bih=472  . What a trip! What an experience!