Sycamore, IL - We Are Going To Miss You!

We spent the last two months in Sycamore, IL and it may have been our favorite location since we began our travels.  That may be surprising to people, but when you full-time RV, there is more to a location than just fun attractions.  We have stayed in places where the folks have had to search for places they felt safe shopping and eating. Mama knew from the moment we drove through Sycamore that it was going to be her type of town. She was able to walk to town and then when Buddy arrived, she rode all over without fear.

Our campground, Sycamore RV Resort, had so many places for us to walk. We walked at least two miles a day. We only had one encounter of someone who didn't have their dog on a leash and that was on our last night.  It was a small dog and his Mama thought it was fine because he plays with a Great Dane.  His Mama may be sorry one day when he approaches a dog that is not a friendly as we are.  One of our neighbors has a container vegetable garden and he brought over a big bag of lettuce for us Monday.  He has lived there for 17 years.  He doesn't like weekenders. We didn't think he liked us, but once he heard we were leaving, he came over a number of times to talk. BOL!

The folks visited an apple orchard/pumpkin patch/Christmas tree farm a few weeks ago.  They said it was a great place for kids, but no pets were allowed.  The place has a huge store and the folks bought apples, caramel apples, apple cider donuts and popcorn. The sign said the baby rice popcorn melts in your mouth and is hull-less.  Mama loves making popcorn on Survivor night, so she bought two bags of popcorn.

The popcorn is small and it is hull-less, but it does not melt in your mouth.   We haven't tried the other bag yet.

We left Sycamore yesterday morning.  We were ready at 6:15 a.m..  Our stabilizer jacks came up easily.  They can be a real problem. We thought we were ready to go, but the motor home wouldn't start.  The battery was low.  We feared the worse because we only had one day to get to our new location because Dad had to be at work today.  Finally, we were able to hit the road!

So, where are we?

Clue #1 - We drove through this state.

Clue #2 - We stopped at this rest area.  It has buffalo made out of metal.

We didn't have time to sniff them.

Buddy is on the back of the Jeep.  He got wet yesterday.

Clue #3 -Our new location is near a Presidential library that the folks hope to visit.  It is currently closed because of the government shutdown.  GRRR!!!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Tired After 10 Hours Of Traveling (Clue #4)

John Deere Historic Site

Since this is our last weekend here, Dad told Mama she needed to find something fun for them to do today.  She came up with a few things, but decided on visiting the John Deere Historic Site.   In all honesty, Mama didn't know if would be fun, but they did it anyway.

The John Deere Historic Site is located near Dixon which is where Ronald Reagan's boyhood home is located.  They visited there in August.  You can read about it here. 

The folks said that the John Deere Historic Site was fun and educational.  The tour includes the archeological site.  In 1963, college students found the exact location where John Deere built his blacksmith shop. This is where he made the self-scouring steel plow. The plow did not have to be wiped off constantly like other plows. The first year he sold one, the second year he sold two.  Business picked up after that. 

This is the original blacksmith shop. This area is behind glass. The area is marked so that visitors can see what was in each "hole".

A short film is shown in the old blacksmith shop about John Deere.  It was very interesting.

The next stop is a replica of the blacksmith shop where a blacksmith does a very good demonstration. 

Plows

The next stop on the tour is the house that John Deere built for his family.  It started out as a three room house.  The only part of the house then was the portion on the left hand side.  He added the rest of the house later.

Mama did not take any photos of the inside of the house because 1) she only had her cell phone and the battery was running low and 2) none of the furnishings inside the house belonged to the Deere family.  The furnishings are not even what they would have had because the furniture was from the East and not from here.  The only thing that Mama wishes she would have taken a photo of was a doll that was found inside one of the walls of the house.  It was a very small doll that must have belonged to one of the Deere girls.

The final stop on the tour was the gift shop.  The folks bought a magnet that was made by the blacksmith.

Handmade magnet

 You may be asking yourself  "Where are the green tractor?"  Well, John Deere was dead for 30 years before the tractor was invented.  The blacksmith said that if John Deere had been run over by a tractor, he would have asked what it was.  When Mama was planning the trip to the site, it never occurred to her that there would not be any tractors there.  She said when she thinks of John Deere, she thinks of tractors and not plows.  She didn't get to ask her question which was "Why are the tractors green?"  BOL!   I guess she will have to Google it.

Mama didn't think there would be many people at the John Deere site, but it was packed.  Their tour had 50 people in it.  A tour bus full of people showed up as they were leaving, so it seems to be a popular place to visit.

The price of the tour is $5.  The folks were probably there for two hours or more. The folks are very happy that they went.

FYI:  Did you know that John Deere's wife's maiden name was Lamb?  Mama thought it was cute that her name was Lamb and his was Deere.

Joey,
The Greyhound Whose Sock Monkey Lost An Arm Today

Scout Took A Shower

We learned last night from our friend, Donna, who lives in the next town over that there is a self-service pet wash near us.  It is really near us.  Like it is across the street.  BOL! Mama thought it was a full-service place and a doggy day care. (She didn't want Scout to have to be crated at a full-service place.)  Mama looked at the pictures online and saw the steps going into the tub and decided that it would be too hard to get Scout to do the steps.  Today, Mama and I attempted to walk there and check it out in person. The traffic was so bad that we couldn't get across the street.  Mama said Scout would just have to take a shower outside because she still had the odor.

I wanted to go out and watch, but Mama said "STAY INSIDE, JOEY!"  I know it would have been fun.  Mama hooked up Scout's cable to a picnic table and then adjusted the water so it was nice and warm. Scout just stood there. She didn't do anything.  Mama said it was easier than giving her a bath in a tub. She should have done it three days ago. So, folks, she is now clean and all we smell right now is baby powder scent since Mama used puppy shampoo on her.  We hope the smell doesn't come back.

After the shower, we were given our frosty treats, pumpkin favor, since Scout was so good.  It's nice when you both get rewarded if one of you is really good.  BOL!

No, the bed is not back. We didn't feel like posing for a new picture.  BOL!

Guess what?  We are leaving here next week.  Yep, we were supposed to leave right before Thanksgiving, but Dad is needed more elsewhere.  Mama was really sad when she found out. We were going to walk in the Pumpkin Fest parade with Greyhounds Only.  The Pumpkin Fest is HUGE here.  Pumpkins fill the town square and it is quite a celebration. She also wanted to do some shopping at their reunion in November.

Mama has been riding Buddy a lot this week and doing all the things that she wants to do before we leave.  She planned on going to garage sales today, but it was pretty cloudy this morning and too cool.  She said that even with the visor on her helmet, she has tears running down her face when it is chilly.  The wind really gets to her.  Anyway, it is pretty windy now, so I think she is just going to stay home with us.  Mama doesn't think she will be able to ride Buddy at our next destination because we are going to be in a rural area and not near town.  We will have to wait until we get there to know for sure.  Mama is a lot happier when she is able to get out and shop.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Glad He Didn't Have To Take A Shower
 

Why Does Scout Stink?

No, she didn't get sprayed by a skunk and I didn't pee on her.  It is still 50% my fault.  She says it is 100%, but I think she needs to take half the blame.  Okay, so here is what happened.  We came back from a walk on Tuesday and I ran in the house and drank some water, then ate some food, then drank more water, than ate more food and then drank more water and then went to the end of the big rug and threw it all up.  It was pretty impressive.  Mama wasn't happy because: 1) she has a weak stomach and sometime when I loose my cookies, she almost looses hers, 2) Dad wasn't home to clean it up and 3) we were out of paper towels.  So, Mama started cleaning it up with towels.  She actually gave me permission to help, but I declined and went back to my bowl and ate some more.  She told me to stop, but I was hungry.  The clean up process took a while since Mama was coughing and carrying on.  The rug was still pretty wet, so Mama folded it over so that the underneath could dry.  It is a 5 X 7.  She should have just put it outside, but she was scared we would slide on the floor.   Mama left to buy paper towels and when she got home, she found Scout sleeping on the wet, stinky carpet.  The smell from the carpet is now stuck to Scout and it is like that Seinfeld episode where Jerry's car stinks.  The smell seems to be multiplying.  It is on Scout, her collar, the bedding.  IT IS EVERYWHERE!   The solution would be to give Scout a bath.  Well, we don't have a shower that is big enough.  The next option is to give her a shower outside, but Mama is concerned with doing that by herself. However, that may still may happen.  We had baby wipes on hand, but they didn't do anything.  Mama tried plain water and also some light perfume.  Yesterday, she bought doggy wipes and puppy shampoo.  Today, she bought carpet cleaner.  We have lots of different odors going on in here now.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Whose Sister Stinks Less Today Than Yesterday!  BOL!

Sock Monkeys!!!!

Mama stopped by Petco today to find something to de-stink Scout and guess what they had?  Sock Monkeys!  Guess how much they were?  They were on clearance for $.70.  Their tag said they originally cost $12, but the sign said $19.99.  Regardless, they were $.70 today. Mama bought each of us one!

OMG! Sock Monkeys!

Give them to us!

Bite, bite, bite

He smells or maybe it's me or the carpet.

I think mine is broke.

Not mine.

He likes to wrestle.

His arms and legs are going every which way.

Take that...sock monkey.

Thanks, Mama, I love him!

 Joey,
The Greyhound Who Posted Twice Today Because He Couldn't Wait Until Tomorrow