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 5th 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 5th 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!
