We arrived at Mill Creek Campground Monday around 2pm to find our mini-reunion group had just pulled in as well.  Mill Creek is a wonderful Corp of Engineers park on Table Rock Lake near Branson, MO.  We had planned this trip with friends way back last year and booked our sites just as the window opened to make sure we had sites together.  Little did we know, we booked the most coveted sites in the park out at the end of the peninsula.  We were surrounded by water on 3 sides and had great views of the lake activity.  

The sunsets were also pretty amazing and each evening offered a different palate to photograph.

This park is was quiet and well kept.  Bathrooms and showers were always clean and the sites were well cared for.  We even spent some time talking to the hosts and restroom attendants about bidding for COE positions.  They were a wealth of knowledge and we feel more confident on accurately bidding on those in the future.  One thing we did not like however is that they said the park here requires a three year commitment.  At this time, that is not something we are looking to commit to as we want to get out and travel.  We know many other COE parks do not require this long of a committment so a COE workcamping position is not out of the question.

We spent alot of time relaxing with friends enjoying the view.  We did not have set agendas and had a very relaxed timeline.  Our boys took their first road trip and came down Thursday evening to Tuesday morning.  It was great to have them join us and the group was happy to see them again.  The main focus of this visit was a mini-reunion of sorts for Rick and his Army buddies, Kirk and Bill.  They were stationed together in West Germany (Fulda, Germany) in the mid 80's as part of the 11th Armored Calvary, "The Guardians of the Frontiers of Freedom". This was the time just prior to the wall coming down between East and West Germany.  Every year their entire unit has a reunion in June and we have attended many in the past years.  This year the reunion was in Boston, and unfortunately our travels and timeline would not lend to us being out east so we decided to plan a mini-reunion in a central location for the small group.  Bill and Denise hailing from Texas, Kirk & Betsy from Northern Missouri and us from Wisconsin, Kirk and Betsy scouted locations and found this gem of a park in southern MO near Branson.  We hoped to have a couple other troopers join us but plans did not line up.  Hopefully we will see them next year at the reunion in Las Vegas.  As you can see by the pictures, good times were had by all and some of the ol' libations from the years in Germany flowed freely.   

Outside of relaxing and reminiscing, we did plan a couple excursions.  Some successful, some not.  On Wednesday we ventured to Top of the Rock Ozark Heritage Preserve.  This is an amazing location perched above Table Rock Lake.  It was developed by Bass Pro Shops Johnny Moris and  has an Arnold Palmer golf course and driving range, a golf cart tour of the area and caves, a Ozarks Natural History museum, as well as Big Cedar Lodge and amazing restaurants and shops.  We took the Cave and Nature Trail golf cart tour and were able to get a military discount.  They do charge $10 for parking but you can then use the $10 coupon they give you to apply it to any purchase, including the golf cart tour.  They offer 2 and 4 seat golf carts , so our group of 6 took one of each.  The views were amazing and the property was a very natural, but beautifully manicured setting.  The bridges were Amish built and it looked as if they were going to be building another one over a ravine.  This was a self guided tour and you could take as long as you wanted and had plenty of pull off parking spots to take in the scenery.  Several of the waterfalls pooled and flowed over the golf cart path, making it more adventurous but never compromising safety.  The paths were paved and roped to ensure there was no off-roading, much to the chagrin of the guys.  The tour also had a cave that you drove through and had a drive up "Bat Bar" that served beverages.  Of course, we couldn't pass that up! 

  After the tour, we took the shuttle to the other end of the preserve to see the golf course, restaurants, shops and sink hole.  Yep, you read that right, they discovered a sink hole in 2015 after some heavy rains, right next to the driving range.  The Cathedral of Nature sink hole started out as 70 feet wide and 40 feet deep and is now 350 wide and 200 feet deep.  There is some great footage here and more information on the journey of this amazing discovery.  There is also a beautiful chapel, perched on a cliff, overlooking the lake that no doubt hosts amazing weddings. The entire property is amazing, thoughtfully done and a beautiful tribute to the area and its ancestors.  We loved it soo much that we went back on Friday with the boys and took the nature trail tour again and also went thru the natural history museum.  We were all amazed at the extensive collection amassed in this one location and how well the history of the Ozarks was told throughout.

Thursday, before the boys arrived, we went out to check out one of the oldest icons in Branson, Dick's 5 and 10 in downtown Branson.  It reminded us of the old Woolworth's, minus a  malt & ice cream counter.  They had everything in there and more.  After everyone purchased their mementos, we headed over to The Farmhouse restaurant for some good ole home cooking.

On Sunday, the group decided to head up to Springfield to check out the worlds largest Bass Pro Shop, Museum and Aquarium.   Since I was a bit under the weather, I stayed back to keep an eye on the homestead.  Everyone had a great time and there was soo much to see.  It was a day of lots of walking and seeing some amazing things.  Here is just a few of the pictures from the museum and aquarium.

Since the boys and Denise and Bill were heading out Tuesday morning, we decided to do a jet boat ride in Branson on Monday.  Since none of us were really fond of doing the Branson strip and battling the crowds and traffic, we were excited to see that the jet boat took off from Branson Landing, which is on the "quieter" side of Branson or what they also call Old Branson.  I had called ahead to make sure they had room for us and was assured there was plenty of seats on the 4:45pm ride and to come on down.  Well due to the curvy roads and traffic, that is a 30 to 40 minute journey.  Once there, I called again to confirm their kiosk location as Branson Landing is an open air shopping and dining district.  They gave us directions and again, said to come on down.  Once we got to the kiosk, we were told that they cancelled the 4:45pm ride as they did not have enough people to go out and the next ride would be the following day.  It seems they need at least 20 people and we only had 8.  Interestingly enough though, several other groups came and inquired as well and were told the same thing.   Doing the simple math, with those other inquiries we probably would have had enough people.  We figured they really just did not want to go out again and turned everyone away.  WOW, that was a disappointment!  Not wanting it to be a wasted trip, we decided to drown our sorrows in some chocolate and ice cream!  We then went back to the campground and enjoyed a wonderful steak and corn dinner and then smore's later around the fire.  To cap off a wonderful evening, we were treated to fireworks across the the lake at a local resort.

Tuesday was an early morning with a 6am departure for the boys and a 9:30 departure for Denise and Bill.  They each have a long way to travel and the boys are doing another one day roadtrip back home to WI, which takes about 10-11 hours.  They took a different route back to see some new scenery and avoid St Louis.  Can't wait to hear about their adventures when they get home.

As for the rest of our time here, we will be doing some more serious R&R!  Tuesday afternoon we are going to a local farmers market and then a quiet dinner back at the campground.  Wednesday we will be doing some laundry and other household chores to ready for our trip to St. Louis to visit with family.

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Holy smokes is it HOT!!!  We are on our first road trip with The Grand Beauty, pulled by the Beast.  Overall the trip has gone well, but long and HOT.

​We started off the trip at Harrington Beach State Park in Belgium with family.  We had a great time relaxing and trying to keep warm.  Yes you heard that right!  Thursday night got into the very low 50's and with all the windows open, it did get pretty chilly!  My cousin, Kassi, was a trooper and braved it out in a tent...with layers of clothes, a blanket and a sleeping bag.  But we lived to enjoy another day at Harrington Beach on Lake Michigan.

Friday after a little bit of rain, Rick, Kassi, our son Nicholas and I went for a nice long walk through the park.  They do have some great picturesque trails on the lake, through the woods and around an old quarry which is now a lake. We even saw a couple deer who are not afraid of people or the pictures you take of them.  Later in the afternoon, the rest of the family showed up and we had 7 sites in the non-electric section of the campground.  We celebrated some birthdays and had a great night at the campfire, except for the darn hollow log that just wouldn't cooperate.  Saturday morning we packed up early as it started to get warm and steamy.  This is where the hot, hot begins!

After saying our goodbyes and emptying tanks, we were on our way south.  The drive through Milwaukee was uneventful, except for the bumpy roads that were pretty jarring at times.  I wonder if I-10 across the south is really worse than these roads!  Our first day was the longest drive from Belgium, WI to Springfield, IL.  We left at 11am and arrived at the IL State Fairgrounds campground a little after 6pm.  With 7 hours of driving, we were both exhausted and hot.  It was 96 degrees when we arrived and very humid.  We opted for full hookups with 50amp so we could run both air conditioners.  Unfortunately, those sites were in the blacktop parking area.  After setting up, Rick looked like a  drowned rat!  By the time we were done and the rv was cooled to a steamy 88 degrees, we decided to go get a quick dinner out.  Way too hot to cook.  We found a cool, hole in the wall gyro shop and had a relaxing dinner.  When we got back to the RV, it had cooled considerably and we crawled right into bed, exhausted from the long hot day.

​Sunday we were up early, as it was going to be another hot day, with temps hitting 100.  We went out for a Fathers Day breakfast and a quick fuel up at Walmart along with some needed items.  We had originally planned to stop at Lincoln's home Sunday morning before leaving, but decided to forego that and get packed up before the heat of the day set in.  We were hooked up and on the road by 11am.  It was already in the low 90's and humid.  Today was going to be another long day, with us looking to make it to Lebanon, MO where we had reservations at Happy Trails RV Park.  Southern IL roads were in better shape and we sailed along.  The landscape began to get a bit more hilly and trees were dotting the landscape rather than the flat, farm landscape of Central IL.  Hitting St Louis proved to be a bit more challenging.  We were wanting to go around STL on I-255, but due to construction and very confusing road signs, we missed that exit and ended up going straight through STL where even more confusing signage continued.  When you are in a big truck pulling 42 feet of heavy metal behind you, it is almost impossible to make quick moves, much less change lanes on a dime like the other little cars were doing in front of us.  Oh, and let's not forget the semi that decided he did not want to get on I-65 and cut back in front of us. Luckily, Rick saw he hesitated and gave him a bit of room to course correct.  I think that proved to be the longest and most frustrating part of the trip thus far.  Although, one other frustrating detail that proved to complicate things is that the new Tire Pressure Monitoring System(TPMS) for the RV continued to malfunction both days.  This is a separate system from the trucks TPMS system and is monitored on a cellphone app.  When working correctly, it is really cool and continuously monitors the temperature and pressure of each RV tire and alerts you to any abnormalities.  The past two days however, it has continued to loose connection to two of the tire transmitters and then throws off an alarm on the app.  Each transmitter has a flat, watch-like battery and initially we attributed it to the batteries going dead prematurely, so we changed them out with new ones that were sent with the unit.  We soon ran out of fresh batteries and were getting pretty frustrated with it.  Rick then decided to take the batteries out and let them sit when we hit a rest area, re-installing them before we left and that seemed to work for a bit, but then re-alarmed again further down the road.  Our last ditch effort was to move the two alarming transmitters to different tires.  We will see what happens there.  We do have a communication into the company and an order for free replacement batteries.  Perhaps it is faulty transmitters.  If it is, we will need to wait to get those installed until we are back in WI.

We arrived at Happy Trails RV Park around 4pm, which made for a 5 hour drive day.  Many Fulltime Rv'ers stick to a firm rule of 3 hours of drive time or be off the road and set up by 3pm.  I now can completely understand and appreciate that way of thinking!  If we were not needing to be at our destination by Monday, I would not be pushing the drive time soo hard.  After these two days of 5 to 7 hours of driving, not to mention in this heat, we are beat!  Hopefully a good night sleep and only 3 hours of driving to our final destination tomorrow will be better.  I will leave you with some pictures of our lovely full hook up site by the pond.

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Yes, as of today, Monday 6/11/18, we are full timers!  So what makes it official???  Well that is a different answer for every full timer.  It could be the day you close on your house, the day you retire, the first day you begin to live in your RV, or the day you drive out of your driveway for the last time.  We have read many fulltime RV blogs and each of them had a different answer.

For us, we have a couple qualifying reasons that add up to us declaring today as our first day as fulltimers.  First off, it is the first work day that Rick and I are both retired.  Rick's official last day was Friday and he has now joined me in the retired life.  Secondly, this morning we signed the papers for the closing of our house, which will officially be on June 29th, however, we will be on the road in a different state.  Finally, we drove out of the driveway for the last time.  We packed everything up and have moved to our moochdocking location about a half hour away at my Dad's next to the barn.  It was bittersweet, and a few tears were shed, but we are excited to see what the next chapter brings!

After getting set up, Rick was off to a family fishing excursion on Lake Michigan.  All of the kids went in on it for a Christmas present for his dad.  Rick has many good memories of fishing on Lake Michigan with his dad when he was young so this was a great time for the family to get back out on the water together.  It was a good time had by all and they caught a couple salmon and trout.

After we spend a couple days here visiting with family, we are then off to our first camping spot at Harrington Beach and then making our way to SW MO to hold a mini Army reunion with Rick's buddies he was stationed with in Germany.  

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