Friends and Family Tour 2017


Cincinnati, OH - Since the recap of the 4th of July in GA’s post, the activity level slowed down somewhat but never very slow with Hudson around.  The remainder of our time at the Bucki’s was pretty much what you would expect with a few exceptions.  Our tanks got full to the point we needed to dump.  GA found an RV park about 10 miles away so we took the opportunity to take Hudson and Katie along and stop afterward for a picnic.  The RV site we used was at Steamboat Bend on the Ohio river, a nice drive and a very friendly park.  Most sites seemed to be occupied by more long-term campers.  Nearby, we found the perfect picnic area and Hudson was free to roam and explore.  That is until a park ranger drove up in his official car and got out near Hudson.  He was in full ranger uniform and stood about 6’3”.  I went over and he said something about a sticker.  So, I figured we were in trouble and needed a sticker on our rig to use the facility. What he was actually asking was if Hudson wanted an official ranger sticker badge to wear on his shirt.  After I regained my composure, I helped Hudson put the sticker on and he gave the ranger a high five.  The ranger told us of his 4 boys at home and I wished him good luck with that!  We finished our picnic and made the trip home in fine order.

Now it came time for us to pay the piper for the reason for extending our visit.  Katie and Frank, through the urgings of new friends they had made across the street, were going to a Jimmy Buffet concert on Saturday night.  We were the ‘sitters’ from around 4 to midnight.  We got Hudson a Happy Meal and went to Ault Park and spent nearly 2 hours at the playground.  (when we first visited K&F, I saw a sign for Ault Park and read it as ADULT Park. I remember at the time thinking that needed further investigation).  We went home and sat on the front porch and blew bubbles for a while then went in to watch the Disney movie Moana. The Bucki’s seem to have this movie playing on a continuous loop.  A very entertaining movie and if you want, GA and I will sing all the songs for you but we can’t replicate the Hudson dance moves. Oh, Katie and Frank had a wonderful time at the concert and their child was in bed when they came home and unharmed. 

When I left home, I was nursing some heel pain.  Thinking I could make it go away I eventually realized my attempts were unsuccessful.  It was only getting worse so I decided to seek medical attention.  Our next stop was going to be in Ottawa, IL so I hoped I could use the same Dr. I used before in Morris.  After a considerable amount of time talking to my insurance company and looking for available doctors, I got an appointment at the Orthopedic clinic I had used in the past and they still had my records.  The only problem was the only appointment available was for Wednesday afternoon.  That would require us leaving a day early and cancelling a dinner the next day with lifelong friends visiting the area.  We were very disappointed but I guess that’s life on the road.  By the way, their business in the area is a great story for another time.

So, we say good bye to Cincinnati and the Bucki family and head to Ottawa, IL to visit GA’s mom Maureen and have some down time before moving on.  As you can imagine, it will be a significant change of pace going from a 3-year-old home to an 86-year-old home.

 

See Ya Out There

Tim

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