Well, Technorati doesn’t seem to want to recognize the blog in it’s newest location, so it’s time to try something different. This time, I’m going for a new location and a new database. I’m in the process of copying all of the old posts over to the new database.

And, of course, it’s the middle of the night, but I don’t have to worry about getting up early to go to work any more, so that really doesn’t matter.

That’s right, it’s a holiday. Funny thing about holidays and weekends when you’re retired – they’re not that much different from other days – I can sleep in on any of them if I want to.

Later…. Well, the move to a new database and new URL has worked. Technorati is seeing the 6 month old posts that I’ve already copied over!

A lost Exit78 post, recovered from Internet Archive WayBackMachine; March 2011

We’ve been gone from home for three weeks today and will be back home day after tomorrow.  For not being nearly as connected all of the time as some folks, it’s been a little rough sometimes not being able to be connected at all.

We’re used to being able to go on-line at any time and connect with family and friends via e-mail or chat.  We’re used to being able to pick up the phone and – with our nation-wide calling plan – be able to call anyone we want to whenever we want to.

However, going camping – even camping with in a fairly nice fifth wheel camper – means sometimes doing without connecting, at least for now.

Granted, sometimes you have internet access in some of the campgrounds, and, more often, phone service is available fairly often as we travel.

We were in one location that was fairly remote in a hollow in Southeastern Minnesota that had wireless internet access – no phone, but we did have internet.  That was a little unusual.

We’ve stayed at two KOA campgrounds on this trip.  We had internet and cell phone service at both.

We’ve stayed at two members-only campgrounds near large cities, Kansas City and Omaha.  Neither campground had internet access and phone service was marginal, with calls liable to be dropped at any moment.

While we were in Nebraska, Karen sat in a parking lot at a recreational area talking to her sister while I walked around taking pictures.  Later that day, I just happened to check my phone while we were wading in the Platte – something I hadn’t done in 40 years – and I had service, so I decided to call our daughter to tell her what we were doing.  Since I was also carrying my camera and a camara bag, that wasn’t a smart move… kerplunk!

Fortunately, it was the cell phone and I grabbed it before it had gone more than 6 inches deep.  (If you know the Platte, in most places, 6 inches is deep!) Believe it or not, the phone is still working.

So back to withdrawal from being connected… We’re sitting in a branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library east of Kansas City that has wireless internet access. Karen has finished with all of her e-mail and on-line forums and is waiting for me to get done – she’s a typist and I hunt and peck. Hunting around to find someplace that has wireless internet is not something that I would want to do on a regular basis.

This trip is almost over and we’ll be back home soon, with no connection problems, unless it storms.  On our next trip, we’re currently considering making a stop in Montana to get a internet satellite system, along with training on how to set it up, and then it’ll be easier to stay connected – when we want to be connected.

(Note: I posted this first on the RV Forum.)

Note: This “lost” Haw Creek Out ‘n About post was recovered from the Internet Archive WayBack Machine.

We’ve been members of Coast-to-Coast for many years and are just now again starting to use the system after not having a camper for many years.

We were very disappointed in the last place that we stayed, Paradise Lake Camping Resort. I had been planning to write a review on my blog for each of the campgrounds that we stay at. I prefer writing positive reviews, but then I also prefer to have a positive camping experience, so the first review is on the last place that we stayed.

Paradise Lake Camping Resort, between Oak Grove and Lone Jack in Missouri, is a member owned campground that is in severe financial difficulty. There is a member meeting in July to vote on whether to accept an offer that has been tendered by a family owned investment group. The family that is interested in investing in the campground has said that the campground will probably be available to the public in the future. If this is happens, and they make the needed improvements, this could be a very nice place to visit.

My review, with pictures, of Paradise Lake Camping Resort is located here.

Update 3/6/2011 – It appears, by their website, that Lake Paradise Camping Resort has been able to make something of a recovery and that they are open to the public.

A lost Exit78 post, recovered from Internet Archive WayBackMachine; March 2011

When I was doing my taxes this year — at the last minute, of course — it appeared that I was going to owe about $2,000 more than I thought I should because of what appeared to be an error on the 1099-R form from T. Rowe Price for disbursements from my Entergy savings plan in 2006. Because of that, I filed for an extension on my taxes and paid what TurboTax said I owed, excluding the penalty for early withdrawal.

I thought that they had entered the wrong distribution code, so when I opened the envelope from T. Rowe Price and saw the same code in box 7 on the corrected 1099-R, I thought we were out of luck. But then why would it have been corrected?

Well, when I went back to check all of the numbers against what was already entered in TurboTax, there were some significant changes. After entering them, the tax owed is $313 instead of nearly $2000!

I’m not sure that I’m going to pursue it any further. I can live with paying the $313.

Bottom line, though: I am very satisfied that I did not stay with T. Rowe Price after I retired! In a very limited number of transactions for me, they have screwed up too many times. My financial adviser asked me to request information from T. Rowe Price on what they had reported to the IRS related to my 401k and stocks. Considering the problems to this point, I need to make sure everything is straight before tax time comes around again.

My advice for anyone considering retirement – stay away from T. Rowe Price.

We got home a little before 4. First tasks were to pick up the mail from the post office and get started mowing. It’s amazing how much the grass (weeds, really) had grown while we were gone.

The good thing is that the “field” looks solid so I don’t have to worry too much about the camper sinking up to the hubs like it did the last time I took it across there.

Karen is going to her quilting group Friday morning so I thought I might drop in at the Training Center. Problem is, I can’t remember if it’s an off-Friday or a work Friday. The last time I stopped was an off-Friday just before a holiday. The place was dead!

Comments on “Back home”

June 28, 2007

Fred @ 12:20 pm

It is a work Friday

Mike @ 1:34 pm

Thanks, Fred. I kind of thought it was.

A lost Exit78 post, recovered from Internet Archive WayBackMachine; March 2011

Note: This “lost” Haw Creek Out ‘n About post was recovered from the Internet Archive WayBack Machine.

We were not able to wash clothes at the Paradise Lake Camping Resort (see review) since the laundry there was out of service and looked like it had been for a long time, so we looked for a laundromat when we went into Oak Grove for some groceries. After not finding one on the highway, we decided to try a couple of side streets. On Salem Street, we discovered Salem Suds and Storage and it was a pleasant surprise.

Don’t try to find them on the internet, yet. They’re not there.

Over the years, we have done quite a bit of traveling and have had to search for place to wash the clothes. We have never come across a self service clothes washing establishment that was as clean and well maintained as this one.

The place was well stocked with magazines and even had a supply of complimentary snacks, with a sign admonishing, “One per person Please,” though “cupcakes, chips, and candy treats” along with “cold soda and water” were available for 75 cents from the “attendant.” Another sign identified the “soda flavors available.”

Another colorful sign listed other items available, with prices, such as hangers, laundry bags, pop, soap, bleach, Bounce, Avon, and said that snacks, coffee, and hot tea were complimentary (ask attendant for hot tea). Many of the decorations on the walls were also for sale.

They also have a drop-off laudry service where the attendant does the wash for you.

Click on any of the images below for a larger version.

Laundromat or Washateria?

Having lived in both Nebraska and Texas before I “left home,” I’m never sure which is the right word to use – I’m also usually unsure how it’s spelled, so:

From Wikipedia:

A laundromat (U.S.), launderette (British) or washateria (Southwestern U.S.) is a store where clothes are washed and dried. This is often done by coin operated machines that are worked by the client. Other laundromats may have staff to wash the clothing. Laundries are equipped with both washing machines and dryers, usually specialized ones designed to survive heavy use.

Didn’t do a good job on keeping up with the travel journal on our last trip, so I’m posting items that should have been in it as I get around to it. They’ll not be in chronological order.

Note: This “lost” Haw Creek Out ‘n About post was recovered from the Internet Archive WayBack Machine.

On the interstate, just after we started heading south in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, I saw a truck with a sign on it for “Soukup Construction Company.” That’s a name you don’t see everywhere.I forgot to look for Uptagrafft in Spirit Lake.

We’ll be back home later this week. We’re currently at Lone Jack, Missouri, and I don’t know if we were going to try to stop in Northwest Arkansas on the way home. If we don’t stop, we’ll be home late on Wednesday.

We plan to be home for all of July and then will leave sometime in August, I think.

We’ve learned a bit about how we like things for traveling and we should be able to make some decent plans. We had been traveling relatively short distances and then staying for 2 or thre nights. It takes a long time to get anywhere that way. I think we’re leaning towards traveling longer in a day, stopping one night and then traveling again the next day. We’ll do that until we get to a destination spot and then we’ll stay there for a week or more before we move on.

Update March 6, 2001 – Names mentioned in post are associated with co-workers who have also since retired.

A lost Exit78 post, recovered from Internet Archive WayBackMachine; March 2011

Today we drove our daughter and 4 year old granddaughter, Ciera, to Sussex, Wisconsin where Ciera was to have a photo shoot at Quad Garphics. While they were doing that, we took our grandson, Utah, to a park where he could play.

Apparently, Ciera’s picture is going to be on the box for a new education card game/toy playing with it. It is coming out in early 2008. During the shoot, she responded very well to the requests of the photographer and whoever else was there. They asked Jessica how long she had been doing this. When Jessica answered that this was was her second shoot, they seemed very surprised. Her first shoot was last week for Lands End and while we were on our way back from Milwaukee — we went to a public museum there after the shoot — Jes got a phone call from the agency that is handling Ciera arranging another shoot tomorrow morning with Lands End.

She’s adorable, but she’s also a rough and tumble 4 and a half year old tom boy.

A lost Exit78 post, recovered from Internet Archive WayBackMachine; March 2011

It is certainly different traveling with small kids, especially when it’s usually just the two of us. While we really had fun with them, there was little or no time to do many of the things we would normally do. Even though there was internet access, I really didn’t get on line very much.

Two more days here. We’ll be leaving on Wednesday headed for Spirit Lake Iowa. Friday, we’ll head for a campground a little south and west of Omaha, Nebraska. From there, we’ll leave next Sunday, headed for Lone Jack, Missouri, where we’ll be for three nights. From there, we’ll head for home.

Comments on “Back in Wisconsin”

June 18, 2007

Fred @ 11:03 am

Hey Mike, While in Spirit Lake, Iowa, look for U______t. Our family “was” a large part of that area many years ago. That is where the largest concentration was found.

Life is good here, call some time.

Fred

A lost Exit78 post, recovered from Internet Archive WayBackMachine; March 2011