There Is No Place Like Home

Indianapolis, IN (68 degrees, clear skies)

With a few click of her heals, Dorothy was transported back to Kansas.  It took Big Bear (our motorhome) a little longer to accomplish but we have arrived back in Indianapolis, our  home town, safe and sound.  There really is no place like home. 

We will be here for three weeks visiting friends and family.  In addition, we also will be seeing all our doctors for annual check ups. 

Some renovations have been planned for our motorhome.  We have an appointment next week at Master Tech RV in Elkart Indiana.  Our fiberglass roof needs to be replaced due to some leaking.  We also are planning on having a ceiling fan installed in the bedroom and a new sofa. Master Tech replaced our carpeting with a type of tile two years ago.  They are specialists in renovations and we have been very pleased with their workmanship and service in the past. 

 

Our route from Sante Fe to Indianapolis included a stop in Amarillo Texas.  We stayed at a Passport America campground called AOK.  Amarillo is not very scenic and this campground was a basic, no frills sort of place.  The rate was $11 for full hooks and was reasonable for a quick over night stay.  This part of Texas is very bleak and flat.  I thought at times we were in the middle of the Grapes of Wrath movie.

 

  

AOK Campground (Passport America)

The next morning we left early and had only traveled a few miles when our tire monitoring system alarmed.  John pulled over and found out that our right front tire on the jeep was shredded.  We had no indication that anything was wrong.  None of the passing traffic had noticed it either due to the tire being on the inside.  Our tire monitoring system was our only indication.  It could have easily caught on fire or bent the rim in no time.  We have monitors on all our tires including a toad. We'd highly recommend some type of system for all RVers.  There are many types on the market.  They are a bit of a hassle to set up and maintain but we would not travel without them.   

 

John was able to quickly change the tire and we were on our way.  A State Trooper stopped and he also was impressed with the monitoring system.  He said that he's seen some terrible damage to motorhomes due to the driver not being aware of a flat tire. 

Our stop for the night was Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City. It is a popular famcamp and many of the sites look over a fishing pond. It was $19 a night for a full hook up site. The laundry on site was spotless and only 50 cents a load for the washer or dryer. It is very well maintained, but not very peaceful. One morning we woke up to three riding lawnmowers and four other folks weed eating this small campground. It was nuts! 

Speaking of grass...Jimmy was so happy to see the green stuff again.  He rolled and rolled in the grass.  The desert was rough on him with all the sticky "goat heads" and cactus.  He is a happy dude!



Tinker AFB Famcamp (fishing pond)



Tinker AFB (our site)

Our next stop was at another Passport America campground called Laura Inglis Wilder RV Park in Mansfield Missouri.  We stayed for three nights ($36 total, 30 amp) and they honored the rate for the entire stay.  The park is not very well maintained and the grass was high.  It is currently for sale and would need a lot of work to get it back in shape. 

We stayed here so that we could visit John's Air Force buddy.  They were stationed in Alabama when they were 18 years old and have remained friends.  Tim's wife had recently died and we wanted to spend some time with him and his daughter. It was a nice visit and we enjoyed being out at their home in the country.  Sara and I had fun shopping at a local mall.  She loves escalators!

Tim and Sara

Laura Inglis Wilder Campground

Our last stop before arriving in Indianapolis was in St. Louis Missouri.  We stayed at Elks Lodge in O'Fallon.  They have two sites with electric only and it was near our friends Chet and Chris.  They ask for a donation to the lodge instead of a nightly rate.   Chris and I worked together at St. Vincent Carmel Hospital.  They have lived in St. Louis for several years now and love the city.  We decided to visit the St. Louis Zoo for the day.  What a great zoo and the admission was free.  It was fun to wander around and see all the animals.  Spring had sprung and all the blooming flowers and trees were so beautiful. 

 

 

We saw the new baby elephant name Kenzi that weighted 300 pounds at birth. She is a cutie.  

New baby elephant-Kenzi

There is an Insectarium exhibit full of bugs.  We especially liked the butterfly wing. 

 

 

Baby giraffe

There is lots to see at this zoo.  Be sure to have good walking shoes.  The weather was perfect.  Afterwards to went the Jewel Box, a beautiful green house in Forest Park.  Unfortunately we were not able to go in due to a wedding.  Oh, well, I guess we'll just have to come back for another visit. 

Jewel Box

Chris and Chet

We are now in Indianapolis staying the KOA in Greenfield (suburb of Indy).  This is where we first workamped two years ago.  As we drove up we were so happy to find Gay and Danny had arrived. They are working here again this year and have been our workamping mentors. We also met Wayne, a new workamper this season.  He has been doing a great job getting the place ready.  The owner greeted us warmly and we all got together for dinner and campfire the next night.  It sure is great to be home. 

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