I got the license

Yay, I did it. This morning I walked over to the Department of Public Safety and exchanged my NC license for a SD one. It is 27F this morning with a breeze, and let me tell you it is a cold day to be out walking. The round trip is 1.2 miles, and this distance is going to get longer with each re-telling. And as anyone who is familiar with Sioux Falls, SD knows, from here to there and back is uphill both ways. The entire trip from start to finish took approximately 50 minutes!

They took a pretty good picture for the license and I think I could pass for a few years younger than I am, except I wish that I had worn a turtleneck shirt, which I had planned to do but it was too bulky to pack. All of us aging love goddesses know that the neck creases give you away.

I obviously passed the eye test although I had to take it slow to get some of the letters. Following me was a young twit who raced through the letters so fast you'd have thought he was going to a fire. Oh, and I couldn't register to vote without a residential address, even though they put my mailing address on the license. I know there has to be a way to register, but I'll do it at a warmer time of year. Maybe when I come back through SD in September I will stay at a Madison campground long enough to do the voter registration thing.

So now I have the day to kill and the only place in the vicinity is the Empire Mall. Being nearly flat broke this month I guess it will be safe for me to walk around and window shop. The taxi will pick me up at 4:00 pm at the motel for the trip to the airport, so I have a lot of time on my hands. I should have slept in this morning with no dogs to walk, but I didn't. I was awake often during the night with leg cramps, probably from sitting so long in the plane yesterday.

I may post again today but it will be from the airport if I do.

I made it to Sioux Falls

The plane was on time landing in Minneapolis but we waited about 15 minutes for a plane to pull out of the gate so we could pull in. No big problem because I had plenty of time between flights, although I was close to the rear of the plane and it took forever for everyone ahead of me to leave. Then the plane to Sioux Falls was late because we had to wait for it to fly in from someplace else, deplane passengers, get cleaned up etc. It resulted in my getting to the motel about 45 minutes later than I had anticipated. I have a very nice room on the first floor, close to the ice machine. Although I brought snacks along, I haven't had a decent meal since breakfast but too late to worry about it now.

Steve came by this morning, and picked up the dogs. It is a relief to me that I don't have to worry about them until Thursday. Donald and Autie drove me to the airport, and he will pick me up tomorrow night. It is great to be the recipient of kindness.

Now for some R&R and hopefully I can get to sleep at a decent Central Time. Losing 2 hrs will be more difficult when I have to get up in the morning. This is an excellent reason why driving is an easier life than flying!

I have to say that while I was waiting at the Sacramento airport this morning, a flood of memories came back to me. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I traveled often, and it was always a pleasure to fly over the Sierra mountain range, the foothills, and finally the rice paddies that are in the vicinity of Sacramento airport. Flying home was always a joy. The trips I liked best were those to other places in California because I would usually take a small, 2 propeller plane. They fly low to the ground and I always felt more safe in them. I would rather have an emergency landing in one of those small planes than in a jumbo jet. The pilots were pretty amusing as well. I will never forget sitting among the 10 or so passengers, seeing the pilot and co-pilot getting reading for takeoff, and one asking the other, "Say, did you get the door?" I wanted to shout, "Uh, wait a minute, I'll be glad to check the door!!!"

If I have any layover time at all in Minneapolis I may post another entry; otherwise I'll be back on Thursday.

Countdown to flight time

I'm dressed and just have to dry my hair to be ready to go to the airport. I don't know why, but I get so stressed out just anticipating the airport scene. Once the plane is in the air I'll be ok, until we touch down in Minneapolis and I have to deal with another airport. It makes me seriously wonder if I want to renew my passport next January, as I can get into and back from Canada and Mexico with my driver's license so long as I am on the ground. I hope to the heavens I never have to take another flight anywhere. In the latter part of the 1980's I traveled quite a lot with my job - two weeks out and then two weeks back home for several years; 5 weeks in Korea, 1 week in Hawaii (what a penance!) so I have had enough of airports. Back then there wasn't the TSA to worry about, and I could carry my hairspray on board with me if I wanted to. The airlines served real food, sometimes I got a first class upgrade and ate on real plates and with real cutlery. Now I feel a little bit better just explaining all this to the readers!

This morning there are at leave five of those RV hotels parked diagonally across from me. The truck driver that brought each of them into their spaces was really good at maneuvering them, and they are REALLY long!

Well, wish me luck. I think everything will go smoothly and the weather shouldn't be too bad. There is snow/rain forecast for Sioux Falls this morning, and possible snow tonight, but the web cam shows the roads looking fairly good. I will be warm enough, I hope.

2nd Post Today--What is This???

Can someone identify what type of trailer this is? I count seven doors! It is taken from inside my rig and the screen, The nearest one to me says "The Light House Sleeping Quarters" on the front cap, and "The Broadmore" in script on the side of the cap. The rig on the other side of that one says "Ritz Carlton" on the side of the cap, and I can't see the front so I don't know if it is a Light House model. Please click on the picture to make it larger if you need to. I've never seen anything like it, but then I haven't been around campgrounds for long.

Back to Fry's Choo Choo

Donald, Autie and I went back to Fry's this morning, and I bought a printer. While there I took a closer look at the train decor, and I must tell you it is fantastic. The murals & trains are from the Sacramento Valley's old days, back in the latter part of the 1800's. I wish I had brought my camera, which I will do the next time I go back to Fry's.

I got the printer home and installed it. So far I've scanned some pictures, the results of which I'm not exactly thrilled, but that is no doubt due to the quality and age of the photos, nearly as old as I am and older in some cases. I think that what you have to go through in order to do a scan and then to save it, takes many more steps than my old Lexmark. I am still using the Lexmark software to adjust contrast, crop, flip the image, and save. I'll just have to deal with it because I do need the scanner.

I found time to go online and "check in" my plane reservations for tomorrow and to get seats on both planes. Hopefully I won't ever have to go through this again, as I don't intend to fly again. Donald will take me to the airport, and I am armed with printed itinerary, boarding pass, and one backpack that I will carry on (no checked luggage). I will have to take the laptop out of the pack to go through security, plus my little 1 quart ziplock bag with shampoo & lotion (not sure if toothpaste has to go into that bag or not). I just hope I can get everything back into the backpack after I clear security. I'm also going to carry a brown bag with snacks, and hopefully they will provide water on the flight. Isn't this a sorry state in the affairs of our country, and I hope the new administration will cut through the crap. Amtrak is a whole lot easier to travel with, but my fiver is just about the best!

The wind has been blowing in gusts and every now and then I can feel the gentle rocking of the fiver.

I mentioned a couple of days ago that I planned to toss the entertainment center and put a small computer table or desk in its place. Well, I emptied the E-center out to get ready for the switch and realized how much storage I will be losing. It's not that I won't do it eventually, it is that I won't do it right now. I have to get this trip to SD behind me and then it will be time to pack up to leave Cal Expo. I don't have time to figure out how to pack everything that is currently in the E-Center. I ditched the TV however, so I have a big empty space where it used to be. To get it off the floor I put the computer and printer there and they fit the space perfectly. When I took out the Brother and put the new printer in its place I realized that it was going to be a tight fit. It won't do for a long-term solution, but for now, until I get back from SD, it will be fine.

I had really wanted to get my hair cut before having a picture taken that will last for 5 years on my driver's license. I couldn't get an appointment and haven't had time to find a walk-in salon, so I am going to look like a wild woman in the picture. What do I really care though. Once a woman realizes she is past the "love goddess" stage, hair styles don't really amount to a whole lot of importance. Well, actually they do..... Who knows, I might find a guy whose eyesight is so bad that I look like a love goddess to him, but then my eyesight is getting better all the time so how would he look to me, is the important point.

Cincinnati, nostalgia

Yesterday afternoon Jeannie called and said they were making Cincinnati chili and invited me to come over. Of course I could never refuse. It was delicious - I like mine just chili spaghetti style, while most people seem to prefer 3-way (chili spaghetti with finely shredded cheddar). There is also 4-way (add onions) and 5-way (add beans). I usually make my chili the regular down home way, but I will always love Cincinnati chili.

Later in the evening we drove over to Fry's electronics, a huge store with just about every kind of electronic item available. They have some old railroad cars rehabbed and on display, and a replica of an old steam engine as you go in. My grandaughter loves to go there and calls it "Fry's Choo Choo". So I shopped at Fry's Choo Choo last night. I saw a nice little computer table that I might be able to use, but wasn't sure if the wood would match the oak in my rig. Next time I go there I will take a sample with me.

Again, I drove home in the dark without any problems, but it is a well lit route and I am familiar with it, which probably helps.

Another weekend is here and the row that held two big motorhomes during the week now has nine MH's and one trailer. Another fifth wheel pulled in two spaces over from me yesterday, and with the windows open I could see and hear pretty well. The man pulled in and then his wife got out and followed his directions to "check this and check that", and "go inside to see if the fridge light is on", and it went on and on. I realize that is what I miss when I pull into or out of a campground and have to keep jumping in and out to check things: A WIFE! Indispensible, aren't they. I think his demanding, "snap to it" tone of voice was annoying. I noticed him walking past my rear window this morning and stopping her - she was evidently going to drive the truck someplace. He said something to her and she began to back the truck up and pull back around to their space, and I could see the look on her face as she went by. I think she finds him annoying as well, and this morning I am glad to be a solo RVer. Enough campground gossip for today.

This is the mat I bought at Costco (for $22 plus change). It is 6 X 9 and is plenty spacious for what I want. I have another camp chair that will fit nicely, and I'm going to get a small table to set between the chairs. I wasn't going to include this picture to my blog because it shows how filthy dirty my rig is, but it will make a good "before" picture, and as soon as I clean it up I will post an "after" shot of the same scene.