W. Memphis, AR: Left St. Louis this morning at 9:45 am and got to W. Memphis at 4:00, stopping at a Flying J truck stop to fuel up and have lunch. After setting up we went for a walk. This campground is situated right on the Mississippi River just across the river from Memphis. We’re only here for one night and then on to Mississippi. The drive down here was great. A beautiful, sunny fall day and lots of pretty scenery until just south of Cape Girardeau where it turns flat as a pancake. Miles and miles of cotton fields and rice paddys. On our walk we met a bunch of people—most of them on their way south for the winter like we are. Nice, friendly people.

Richmond, IN: Thank goodness for RV Road Help--although they sent someone to remove the tire last night with a 5000 lb jack even though they knew we had a 14,000 lb RV. This morning another guy came with the right equipment and removed the tire. Now we just wait until it’s fixed and they return to put it back on. Thank God we’re in a campground and not on the highway somewhere. At some point we leave for St. Louis and home. At least it’s much warmer and a very pretty day.

Richmond, IN: Left Westfield this morning at 9:15. Stopped for fuel and breakfast and then hit the road. I drove for 2 ½ hours and then Mike took over. Stopped for fuel and early dinner at about 3:30. Then I took over driving. Unfortunately for me, there was a lot of construction through this part of Ohio with those cement divider things, very narrow lanes, and trucks passing me very close. Very nerve wracking. Pulled into the KOA in Richmond, IN, at about 6:30. Then we discovered we had an almost flat tire. Jeeze, and I was driving. We’re going to have to call someone and have them come out and either fix it or replace it. Mike couldn’t get it to hold more than 27 lbs. (sigh). Then when I was putting the kitchen slide out I heard this awful crunching sound. Apparently, the cupboard door opened because of the rough roads we encountered and two glasses and a mug fell out. The slide broke one of the glasses (plastic). Oh well, at least we made it here in one piece. I didn’t notice anything unusual while driving with that almost flat. Tomorrow we leave for home at some point after we get the tire fixed.

Syracuse, NY: Before we left this morning we met Bobby McMahon for breakfast. He lived next door to us when we were kids. It was so great seeing him. He has a great, dry sense of humor which I never realized back in my teenage years. But in those days he was putting worms down my back and tying me up and throwing me on the local recluse’s front porch. Wish we could have stayed longer, but our water pump is now acting up. And three months worth of mail is awaiting us. We left at 11:30, took turns driving, and arrived in Westfield, NY (just a couple of miles from the PA line) at 4:00. Tomorrow we drive to Richland, IN, and will be our longest driving day. At least the weather has improved.

Syracuse, NY: Cloudy but warm this morning. Went to the club house at the Green Lakes golf course for breakfast. We were the only ones in the restaurant. Got there just before they stopped serving breakfast. After that we drove to North Syracuse. Couldn’t find my old high school. Drove by our old house and the neighborhood didn’t look as bad as I thought it would. The Roots still live across the road. Herman was out and I stopped and talked with him. Didn’t think he knew who I was, but he remembered when my father planted the two maple trees in the front yard. Drove around some more and then called Jim McMahon who used to live next door to us as kids. We ended up going over to their house in Baldwinsville. Spent the whole afternoon there blabbing with Jim and Carol. Had a great time. Then we went to Lock 24 Restaurant for dinner. On our way back to the campground at Green Lakes there was a huge rainbow over the city. Sky threatening to the west, clearing behind us. Would have loved to do some biking on the Erie Canal bike path, but no time and bad weather. We start the drive home tomorrow morning (sigh).

Syracuse, NY: Left at 10:00 and arrived at Green Lakes State Park by 3:45. I used to take swimming lessons at this park as a kid and also life saving lessons as a teen. The campground is great and the Erie Canal bike path is just across the street from the park entrance. Great place! We were able to get in touch with LaDon who I used to work with at GE and we had drinks at the golf course club house. Beautiful view from the veranda. Was great reminiscing with her.

Camp Quinn

Sun, Sept 2

Camp Quinn: Really foggy this morning. But cleared to a beautiful day. Left around 10:30. Arrived at Michele & Norman’s around 1:00. Got set up and checked out the new animals. Louie is so cute. And Clohe is also. Taz was glad to see us (I think). We went to the Six's for dinner.