November 4, 2010

View of the day-Al and the Big Bud that is on display at Independence, Iowa...he's not so big now.


Well, we managed to catch two mice the very night we set the trap line...and we haven't seen any sign of any more for over a week, so we hope that is the end of them.


Al had a successful toy show in Regina and had help from one of his best customers, Roger, from Lipton. Al came home every night...about 100 miles one way...and picked up/dropped off Roger on the way through, which did add a few more miles. But it was worth it because he really needed the help.

Marilyn was busy at the theatre learning the ropes for Macbeth...literally, because she was on curtain duty for all four performances. It was a hectic week with the play and being back at work...a lot had changed, and what hadn't, needed to be remembered...and that seems to be getting harder all the time.

We had a nasty snow storm on Marilyn's first day back at work...an omen, perhaps? It was a bad couple of days around town because it was just cold enough for the snow to stay, but it was so heavy and wet that first the slush came then it froze making it tough for the low vehicles to get around. And being as it was only November, the Dept. of Highways didn't seem to be prepared and there were a lot of accidents due to the fact that they left so much slush on and only used a teaspoon to spread the sand and salt so it wouldn't be slippery.

It was a good thing Al had the dozer blade on the tractor because he had to push the three and a half miles out to the highway and back...twice...to make it passable. Apparently we are on the wrong end of the Municipality to get road service. The snow was starting to disappear as we got ready for our next big excursion south, and hopefully it is completely gone when we get home.

We left early Monday morning for our week long swing through the USA to pick up our new camper from the factory and take in the National Farm Toy Show. We drove almost 900 miles the first day and made it to Madison, Wisconsin, then got up early to go the last 500 miles to Elkhart, Indiana. It was nice having four lane Interstate highways most of the way, but we were a bit leery about having to drive through Chicago.

We had asked around and were told the best times to go through the city to avoid rush hour traffic. We figured we would kill a couple of hours somewhere north of the city until it had slowed down, but then we thought...even if we have to wait in traffic we still have those two hours to get through town. So we through caution to the wind and started on our way...at 5pm.



Marilyn had her small GPS all programmed, but the last time we had gone to Dyersville through Minneapolis, it had missed a turn on a new highway and took us right through the centre of the city instead of around it. Although she had updated the map, she still brought the GPS for the laptop and had both of them running as Al drove through Chicago. We made it with no wrong turns, but we are both certain that long haul trucking or RV hauling will not be in either of our futures. Neither of us can figure what the draw is to live in such a huge city and spend all your time driving to and from work...amongst such crazy drivers...who knew 45mph limits mean you can drive 65mph?

Unfortunately, Marilyn had to stay focused on the GPS so there was no photo opportunities...very painful for her...and by the time we got through town, it was dark, so we didn't get to see much of anything. We did make it to Elkhart in one piece and had a good nights rest before going to pick up the camper in the morning.

We stopped at the dealership and they took us over to get a tour of the camper that was getting it's final run through to make sure everything was in working order and to show us how to run all the new fangled things that we had ordered. We also toured the factory where they were built...not nearly as thorough as the CaseIH plant, but very interesting, none the less. It was nice to see how they are built from the frame up and it gave us confidence that we had chosen the right brand.

We got hooked up and started back the 340 miles to Dyersville for the toy show, but this time we decided to avoid Chicago all together, even though it meant an extra 30 miles. We did hit rush hour traffic again, but it was no where near as bad as the day before...except for the detour that took some doing to get around so we could get back on the Interstate. It was dark by the time we had to cover the last 50 miles and it was probably a good thing because that road coming into Dubuque, Iowa was full of rolling hills and hair pin curves. Maybe one day we will see it in the daylight...and wonder how the heck we made it pulling a camper. It was good to finally get to the hotel and unwind for a few days.

Today we got over to Dyersville early and were given permission to unhook the camper in the parking lot at the Pamida store. That worked out great because it is right next to the school where the show is being held and the guys can load it up with all their toy purchases. After browsing around the antique store and trying to find some early bargains, we drove 30 miles west to Independence to see the Big Bud that was on display at the museum.

Al's brother Jeff, his neighbor Joey and Roger, Al's toy show helper, had come down for the show and we met them at the restaurant before going over to the museum. After a couple of hours looking around, we started back to Dyersville stopping in Lamont so the guys could pick up a load of toys they had ordered...enough boxes to fill the back seat of the Dodge...AND the box!

We got back to Dyersville in time to unload everything into the camper before the guys took off to the toy auction that was just starting. Marilyn went to give the Pamida store a bit of business for parking in the lot, then headed back to the hotel in Dubuque.

Tomorrow is the big day with some factory tours, LOTS of shopping in the different buildings around town they have set up with vendors, then getting the early bird pass so we can get on the floor at 2pm for an early peek before it is opened to the public at 6pm.

Better tighten up the laces...