Weekend escape..................

I managed to escape to home this past Thursday, due to a cancellation. This will be the last weekend home until the week of Thanksgiving, so I decided to make the most of it! Rolled into town and hooked up the STEALTH camper, and pulled it about 4 miles southwest of town to a the local state park, Found me a nice, secluded campsite and set up camp.....Here are the views outside my spot.....ENJOY!!

I think the leaves are just past their peak of color, but still pretty darn nice! Took the above 3 Friday afternoon, but here is the view this morning just after sunrise...

The strange thing is, I'm all alone here....not another camper in sight!! Not even a tent camper to enjoy the beauty or share a cup of coffee with!! Oh well...I'm enjoying it anyway. Will stay until Sunday morning, then pull the trailer back to its semi permanent spot and hit the work trail again...just over 3 more weeks and then Florida bound for a couple months, maybe longer.....

Getting homesick.............

I have been on the road now 3 weeks straight, and still have a week to go before I get home for a weekend! I miss my STEALTH camper...I miss my bed...miss setting outside under my roll out awning having a nice cup of coffee...miss the solitude and privacy afforded to me in my little slice of custom built heaven!! While its true the company pays all my hotels while travelling, so many of them are identical.....we stay at a lot of Holiday Inn Express hotels, some are better than others, but in the end they are like Walmarts---pretty much all the same! However, we are wrapping up a project in Ace stores in the Fort Wayne, IN area and are presently staying at an absolutely fantastic hotel this next week in Auburn, Indiana known as the Qualiy Inn Auburn.....I will attempt to upload some pics from their website, but they do not do the place justice.....

The first thing you see when you pull in the circle drive to the entry is the wraparound screened in porch with rocking chairs....real wood floors highly polished....comfy rocking chairs made of hickory....ceiling fans creating a gentle breeze....then, you walk thru a massive door to this-----

And then this-----

The lobby is just beautiful! Sitting areas with big, leather overstuffed chairs...a breakfast area just off the lobby....the desk clerk checks you in and tells you of all the amenities, and invites you down to the lobby between 8pm and 10pm for milk and cookies!! And by the way, there is no elevator, so if you want a room on the 2nd floor, you are directed to this---

And then, you get to your room----

I could not believe that Corporate Lodging gets us a rate of---get ready---$50 for this hotel!! The regular rate is only $79!!! And they have a nice pool area, which is closed for the winter but there is also an outdoor seating/dining area just off the breakfast dining area---

Isn't this place gorgeous!! Years ago when it was built as a lodge, for the well heeled and well to do, it sat across the street from The Cord-Dusenberg Museum, and that motif is prevalent thru the hotel still today. Staying here this next week will definitely cure my homesickness! Will undoubtedly be spending several hours on the front porch enjoying free fresh coffee and rocking my cares away!

Have I lost it??

I've been doing some off the wall thinking the last few days, and I'm putting this out there for comments--good or bad--so get back to me and let me know what you think!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shortly after Thanksgiving, I'm headed out of Illinois and impending cold weather for Florida.....original plan was to hook up the STEALTH camper to bring along. Was going to go to a nice place outside of Silver Springs to park for a couple months and just hang out. Lot rent alone was going to be $800. for 2 months....I want to point out here at the start that this new idea has nothing to do with money! The travel fund is in place, and could easily last 6 or 7 months. But, this new idea has me intrigued, if nothing else just to prove to myself that I could do it!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have come to realize the past few weeks that my new tow vehicle----the Chevy Suburban---has lots of interior room with the 2nd seat folded flat and the 3rd seat removed. I'm thinking that if I put an air mattress back there and a sleeping bag on top of it, I could sleep just as well on that as I do in my STEALTH camper!! Naturally, a few modifications would have to be made, such as blocking all the windows with foam blocks and then a layer of Reflectix......a partition easily put up/taken down just behind the front seat to aid in privacy and block out prying eyes....temporarily install a small solar panel on the roof--maybe my 80 watt folding panel, tied into a battery so I would have some power......but then again, maybe not, as I would just be using the back area to sleep! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Would take along my Coleman catalytic heater as well as the Coleman 2 burner cookstove.....my DVD player....minimal clothes---jeans/polos/sox/undies---the basics ya know! How much stuff does 1 guy need really? The laptop...the cell phone...the camera...the GPS...batt. charger for the camera....supply of coffee/creamer/sugar/stirrers/GORP/instant oatmeal/Cheerios/whatever else I want to load into the beast! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not being tied to a fixed place, means I will be free to roam thru the state off the beaten path and check out Florida at a leisurely pace.....get tired, just pull off at a Pilot/Walmart/rest area and hop in the back and snooze! May even go to Disney World and hang out a few days.......run to Titusville to the Space Center....over to Tampa to Busch Gardens....yeah, this is starting to sound pretty good!! But can I REALLY do it?? What do you guys think? Not pulling the STEALTH camper will stretch the gas even farther! Let me hear the opinions---good and bad!!

Is it Thanksgiving yet?????

Only the end of the 1st week of October!!????!! I am SO ready to hitch up the trailer and hit the road!! Getting tired of working already!! Been on the road in Indiana working back in Ace Hardware again, doing the light bulb changeovers mandated by Congress......real pain in the you know what!! And we STILL have another 6 weeks to go!! Supposed to be finished 11/19, and I hope to be hitched up and headed south the day after Thanksgiving. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This company always takes off about 2 months after Thanksgiving, starting back up in mid to late January, and working non stop thru mid May. I have been told I'm being called back next year, which is good, so am looking forward to 6 weeks of doing nothing while setting in Florida sipping ice cold Coors Lite! The Travel Fund is ready....the STEALTH camper is 95% ready!! The Suburban is ready.....I am past ready!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My solar charge controller bit the dust a few weeks ago, and have already received a new replacement from Blue Sky.......the entire system has to be re-wired, and I am taking it to a pro in Gainesville, FL to do it for me. Have been stocking up on 1 pound LP cylinders for heating and my Coleman cookstove, so that when I'm boondocking I'll still be able to have heat when I need it and be able to make coffee and do a little cooking to boot! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since coming back to Illinois this past January, the STEALTH camper has sat still in one fixed location longer than I intended.......but the money is so good with this company!! And while I'm working all the hotels are paid for! But thats starting to get old.....stayed out on the road this past weekend, and expect to be out until 10/19 before getting home. Then will be out until 11/19!! Not being handy, or mechanically inclined, I wonder if I need to have the bearings greased on the STEALTH camper wheels?? Anyone know? Is it something I can do myself? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------