Saturday, February 27, 2021

Our First Travel Adventure of 2021!

We left South Dakota on a Monday morning and pointed our jeep east. This would be our first adventure in….(7 years?) that we did not take a house on wheels with us. Instead we packed the jeep to the ceiling, put the Dakota in the back seat and we were off! The weather forecast showed that we had a tight window each day to avoid more of the nasty white stuff. A few hours ahead of us there was a storm that left dozens, if not hundreds of cars in the ditch through Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. We drove down the interstate looking at all the cars in the ditch commenting on what it would have been like to be in that car or this car. “That one spun a few times”, “Look how far that one went into the ditch”, “That one is on its roof” and so on. Luckily by the time we came through the roads were clear and we just got to witness the aftermath.

Our first day took us from Pringle to Clear Lake Iowa. Roughly 9 ½ hours and 637 miles. This was not a sightseeing trip, we were on a mission. That night we stayed in a Super 8 that was anything but super. It was adequate however and we were on the road by 7:30 the next morning. Another 9 hour 600+ mile day found us just east of Indianapolis. Along the way we went through many towns that I had visited during my working life. On the occasion I visited these stores it was usually not for good reasons. Sioux Falls, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Peoria and Bloomington Ill, Indianapolis as well as Dayton and Columbus. It brought back lots of memories when our company bought, sold and closed stores; you are rarely greeted with open arms. 

Day 3 was a shorter day, 8 hours and less than 600 miles. We arrived at Jessica and Shane’s a little after 4:00. They had just purchased and moved into this house a few months ago. So after hugs all the way around we got a tour of their house. Very interesting house dating back to 1860 with several additions throughout the years. One section has plaster and horsehair walls in some areas and whole log beams in the basement. Other sections have sheetrock and more modern construction. It has 3 fireplaces none of which are currently operational but we might try and change that while we are here. A very interesting house to say the least.


The days before our arrival Jessica and Shane had been working on getting their camper ready for our arrival. The only problem being that it was in the middle of a snow covered field and they needed to get it in their driveway. It took 2 days and a few swear words but they got it there!

This is the result of the end of day 1

The snowstorm that was chasing us across the country caught up with us that night dumping several inches of snow on the ground along with some freezing rain. The next two days were snow days for the kids so we lots of grandkid times the next two days. I will be the first one to admit that going from having no grandkid time to a lot of grandkid time is an adjustment; 90% fun, 10% grandpa had to go out to the camper for a timeout. I would go read a couple chapters of a book, reenergize and come back in. Man, those kids have a lot of energy! On top of that they do not have TV working in their house yet so taking this old man who is used to his TV time and replacing it with a 6 year old and an 11 year old is quite a shock to the system!

As far as school goes they have in-person classes on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Virtual on Wednesday. Since we got here last Wednesday they canceled both Thursday and Friday. It was not too bad as it has been over a year since I have seen them but by Sunday I was looking forward to Monday when they were in school plus Jessica took the week off so we would get to spend some “adult” time with her.  We woke up Monday morning looking forward to a day of hitting breweries and antique stores only to look out the window and see snow falling from the sky. Noooooo!

Yep, they canceled it again. Since all the kids are set up with tablets for virtual days they cancel school at even the slightest threat of snow or ice. Convenient for the teachers, hell of the schedule for parents. If both parents are working, I really don’t know how they can do it.

Luckily I had a couple of projects to keep me distracted. The first was putting some lights in Kendall’s room. She only had lamps and outlets, not even a switch to control an outlet. Should be pretty easy, just need to crawl up in the attic, find a hot wire, tap off that to a switch then to the lights.

What I did not think about was that this house was built in the late 1800's and not a lot of thought went into lighting and wiring

So up in the attic I went. Not a single wire to be found….anywhere. What I did find was some pretty interesting and old timber frame construction. Their trusses are rough sawn 3x3’s with a wooden pin holding then together.

Kinda dark up there but there is the wooden spike through the truss

Plan B, try to find a wire in a wall and tap off of that. Shane and I found one and were able to fish it up the wall into the attic. From there I was able to fish it down to the switch location and get to work. 5 hours later we had working lights!

Kendall played on the ladder while I installed the lights

We did get out on a couple adventures. The first was when I went to Waynesboro to get the Jeep fixed. Jeep fixed you ask? Well, on day two of our journey out here Barb was looking out the mirror and said “Our fender flare is about to fall off”. We stop at the next town and sure enough 7 of the 10 tabs holding on the left rear fender flare were gone and it was about to fall off. It was still below 0 so I basically ripped it off, threw it in the back of the jeep and we carried on. When we got here I looked up Jeep repair shops and came up with on just a few miles away in Waynesboro. I called and they bring it on it and they will see what they can do. Little did I know that the place I was taking it to was Hauk Design, a world famous Jeep fabricator. Apparently they have a TV show and do upgrades and fabrications for jeeps all across the country. I had never heard of them and am curious if anyone else has. They were super nice, had me drive into their heated shop and got to work on fixing it. As they were working on it they gave me a tour of their shop and showed me some of the “projects” they were working on. Our jeep and I were definitely outside our pay grade but they got it fixed and I was back on the road within 30 minutes for less than $100. I could not have been happier!

We have been out antiquing a few times and I picked up an old wooden ammo crate, a couple of vintage wooden decoys and three cast iron tractor seats for Farmer Bob. Whenever I would find a seat I would text it to him and I was able to few that he was interested in. He made me promise not to mention it to his wife DeAnne so I definitely will not do that. I think he might be giving one to her for her birthday or something. I am sure she will be super excited!

With all the snow we have been outside doing as much as we can; playing hide and seek, sledding and building snowmen.

Jessica about to tip over

Dylan on his way down

Little Kendall just flew down the hill!



We are about 1/2 way through our adventure here, who knows what the next week will bring!


27 comments:

  1. Man...you guys sure do put in long driving days! We sure know what you mean about energetic grandkids. It’s sensory overload! We’ve hardly seen ours in the last 6 months with our COVID restrictions. Enjoy your quality family time and safe travels when you head back.

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    1. We might take our time on the way home and see a few more sights. But then again, we could spaz and be home in 3 days!

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  2. Wow that certainly would be an adjustment spending all that time with your grandchildren, going from the quiet, other than construction sounds at your house, to what I imagine like the grinch "THE NOISE, THE NOISE" with your hands over your ears! But I am sure you adjusted quickly and love every minute. Hopefully that is the end of the snow.

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    1. Yup, that would be me at time although instead of covering my hears I just go take a timeout in the trailer.

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  3. Grandkids can definitely wear you out, we totally understand grandparent timeouts, especially when our grandtwins were younger, cherish those times, they will be teenagers who just want to play video games before you know it!

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    1. There is already a mix of that. They are not getting tired of us after a while and eventually pick up their iPads and play games or watch shows.

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  4. That is a gorgeous house, Jim. The history in those walls...oh, my. It could easily qualify as Georgian architecture, which would’ve been an earlier period. Love the wooden spikes!

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    1. The house is cool but needs a little love. It has a mismash of styles in it. Jess and Shane would like to get it back to as much of its original charm as possible.

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  5. You 'could' make one of those tractor seats into a circular snow sled...I am sure 'Bob' would not mind.

    I remember having a few trips in a car right behind snow storms too, usually pretty good travel until the sun goes down and everything freezes again.

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    1. That is very true. We were off the road by 6 each night so we avoided the icy stuff. I was really impressed with how clear the interstate was.

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  6. Nice that you are able to help the kids out around their home.
    Most of the old homes ran their wiring through the floors,
    That pegging the trusts together is common among the Mennonite/Amish communities.
    Glad the Jeep was a quick fix.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. Yup, that is what I am finding. They wanted me to convert another fixture to a 3 way and add a switch but there is no way to fish a wire to the existing switch area without tearing the wall up.

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  7. Those are long driving days, 6 hours towing a trailer just about does us in! Glad you made it safe and stayed out of ditch, seams like every trip someone is out to get us! I know what you mean about grandkid energy, number six is due when we get back! Have a great time out there!

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    1. I could not imagine trying to entertain 6 of them at once.

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  8. I have to admit driving 6-7 hours a day wasn't that bad after all, having just done it. So much easier in a car or truck than an RV. As to the kids, I think I would have been in time out more than you, if only for the quiet!! Hitting the antique stores makes it all worthwhile!!

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    1. We had a couple books on cd, it really helps the hours fly by and keeps you entertained during the boring sections.

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  9. Enjoy those grandkids now. Before long, they will grow up to be cynical old people like us. Be careful not to buy too much stuff. We are not there to haul it around the country for you like we did the last time. I don't even think we got "paid" for that.

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    1. If you start heading out this way now you would be in time for us to load up your trailer to haul all this stuff back!

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  10. That was a LONG drive! And just in time for the two snows. I had to laugh as I read about your "play time" with the grandkids. You'll be looking forward to quiet time on the ride home. Have a fun second half visit!

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    1. We will probably get in the Jeep when we leave and listen to nothing but the silence for the first hour or so.

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  11. "Grandpa needs a timeout in the trailer." LOLOLOL!! I hope you got some whiskey out there!

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  12. What a beautiful home!! Love the skylight in the bedroom. Nice to have a place to go for timeout! LOL. Very cool about the Jeep place you visited! Antiquing sounds awesome in a new place. Now to visit some local breweries and check them out.

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    1. We have already hit a couple, they will be in our next post!

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  13. That old house is very cool. That canceling school thing is a strange byproduct of all of this COVID stuff. It is just too easy for liability reasons to cancel school and go virtual. The problem is there are so many things missed when they are virtual. Your point about parents and their schedule is also a huge problem.

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    1. On top of that the quality of what is being taught is horrible. Makes me mad just seeing it!

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  14. You guys have endless energy! Building your own home, helping with the kids house, AND entertaining the grandkids!

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