What Is My Problem?

Not really a question, more like a loud statement.

It seems ever since that tornado in Lakeland, I have not been able to sleep if it is raining or even any threat of rain. Not storms remind you…just drizzling or any sort of rain.



I fear floods…you would not believe how many places, including campgrounds that we have seen lately in our travels that have been totally underwater.

I fear the wind…the places we have personally witnessed where the damage from these winds has been terribly harmful.


Why are many campgrounds/RV Parks out in the middle of nowhere? Lately, I have been preferring the ones that are located right smack in the middle of any city where I can see outside and see something, not total darkness.

I fear the darkness…that many of these campgrounds lately have to offer. There was a time in my life that I loved the idea of the quietness of the pitch blackness of the night, now it just gives me something more to fear.
If I can see it, I seem to be ok with it, but if I look out my window and can’t even see a few feet from our RV, then it is way too dark.


So why is it lately that most of the storms have been arriving in the area we are in between the wee hours of 2 and 4 a.m.? Will I ever be able to hear the sound of rain on our tin roof in the middle of the night and not immediately spring out of bed and turn on my computer for a weather update? So many thoughts rush through my head while I am waiting for the latest radar to load up and all I can think about is all the bad things that could happen. It used to be a lullaby that lulled me off to sleep, now it just provokes thoughts that I can’t seem to control.

What is it that I need to do to feel safe? I need to be able to look out and see the storm, the rain and the wind…that is it! Stay in a place where it is well lit, where I can look out at any time and see what is happening and then I will be better. That’s a start and here is another thought.


We are so susceptible to the drama, so we stopped watching any news due to the negative effect it always has on us. Watching the weather has always been something we do because of our travels, well lately the Weather Channel has been worse than a news channel. All the bad news and drama sucked me in once again and the fear once again began to settle into me. I will find another means to check the weather from now on because all the bad news puts a fear into me that I just can’t shake and I really do not enjoy living my life with all that fear.


I will begin meditation again to get myself and then keep myself grounded. Yes, bad things happen, that is just a part of life, a person can be prepared without going into the deep end and drown in all the drama. It is a fine line for me and the past few weeks, I crossed it and went to the other side. The side that puts an ugly fear deep inside of me that gives me no hope but instead fills my heart and soul with fear. Today is a new beginning and I will work all day long on not allowing the fear to take over my life. Instead I will live each moment with the gratefulness of having all the great things that we have and allow them all to play a part in my life today, this moment, living it to it’s fullest and enjoying it all for what it has to offer.

Play Days

We wrapped up the Cincinnati Quilt Show on Sunday and spent another night at the hotel with plans to travel a few hundred miles on Monday. The weather had other plans, it was rainy and windy so we opted to find another location…and we did! Instead of heading northeast as planned, we headed southwest a few miles to Indiana, where there were 3 casinos all within miles of one another and they allowed boondocking. We were so ready for a nice, fun, play day!

Our first stop was the furthest of the 3 casinos, Belterra Casino located in Florence, Indiana. This casino is one of the nicest, cleanest and friendliest we have been to in a long while. They did not have any promotions and the machines are a bit tight, but the people were so friendly. The buffet was a wonderful spread of some really good tasting fresh foods.


Boondocking was located right across the road with ample space for several rigs, many truckers park there overnight too. The rains continued throughout the night which made it a long walk to our home after playing all day. We did not see any signs of any shuttle to and from this parking area.


Our second night we opted to head north to the next casino, the Grand Victoria in Rising Sun, Indiana. This place had a huge area to park overnight and even though we were the only ones, there was enough room for hundreds of RV‘s here. Another long walk to the casino, but we did see shuttle stops, only no shuttles in sight. It was not raining, but there was frigid wind blowing.




They were also located on a riverboat that had several floor levels with many slot machines and table games. A very classy place with very accommodating staff.


The buffet was fabulous, fresh and tasty with desserts that were scrumptious.


Our last stop was going to be Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. We heard that we would not be able to park overnight on property but were allowed to park in another area. Since we were not comfortable with that, we thought we would just go and play for a few hours, not overnight it. That is not even possible. We could not even get close enough to park our rig. There were warning signs of parking overhead being only 7’9”. We almost made a dreaded turn into this area, where we both driving our rig and the Penske truck had to hold up traffic to make a turn around which was very tight. It seems there is NO parking lot, only parking structures that do not accommodate tall vehicles. We didn’t stop!

The weather has made it difficult for us to pursue many of our plans but we are trying to make the most of all the changes that are going on.

Working the Cincinnati Quilt Show

Saved about 200 miles for our last day since we needed to get to Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio at a decent time so we could unload the scooters.


Thank goodness the Penske truck picked an opportune moment to have issues. We had to get into this extra long line to get to the docks to unload. We turned off the motor while we sat and when we tried to get it restarted, it chose not to start. The convention personnel were so accommodating and allowed us to unload where we were while waiting for the mechanic. It was not as convenient and took us a lot longer since we were on the opposite side of where we were suppose to have the scooters set up, but we were able to work it all out. Turned out the starter got stuck, and once the mechanic hammered it loose, we were able to move the truck, by then we were unloaded and set up.

The parking for both vehicles almost became an issue too but as with everything in life, if you choose to just handle it respectfully, then the outcome is usually satisfactory, as was in this case.


The show hours were not really long and we met a bunch of great people. Because we are staying at the Millennium Hotel right next to the convention center and have to eat out every night, we are tasting many of the local cuisines.


We found one in particular to not be to our likings, and that would be the Skyline Chili Dog...


The chili has a cinnamon taste to it that just didn’t taste all that great to us. Unfortunately, all our other eats left little to brag about, we encountered bad service, blah tasting foods and nothing special everywhere we went. The only meal we could say anything good about would be our pizza delivery from Papa John’s, it has been a long time since we ate pizza that tasted this scrumptious, especially from Papa John‘s!

This is one of the smaller Quilt Shows and since we are really not into quilting, a bit boring for us. There were some amazing quilts that we seen that takes a magical hand to create. Many years ago, I, too had a magical hand for quilting, but have since lost all of my magic, as well as my interest in it.

Leaving the South…BRRRRRRRR!

We made it through the storm that crossed the country with vengeance. We were in a hotel in Perry, Georgia and it hit us around 1:40 a.m. The winds began to howl under the door to our room and because of the fresh wounds from the last tornado we experienced, we, (actually Jerry did not have a choice) but we spent about an hour in the bathroom with our computer watching it pass. Lots of wind, lots of sideway rain, little thunder and lightening and then it was over. It continued to rain and thunder for the next few hours, which was great sleeping weather. The red blob had moved on, there was no more fear left in me and I slept so soundly.

Because we drove such a short distance the second day due to the storm approaching, we had more miles to travel on Tuesday then we usually drive in a day. The wind was strong and the motorhome was being tossed everywhere because many of the truckers lost a day of driving and were all in a big hurry. We usually do between 55 and 60, so they were passing us constantly, causing a rocking motion for me in the motorhome, but the Penske didn‘t feel it as much. The traffic was the heaviest we had seen in such a long, but we made it safely to our next destination…Renfro Valley, Kentucky.

It was apparent that the storm hit very hard in several places along our path, there were trees down, power outages and buildings damaged. The storm also left a cold front behind and the temperatures dipped way down to freezing, something we have not felt in awhile and we do not like it. But, after all, we are a lot more northern then we have been in a long time.

We arrived at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio preparing to work the Quilt Show renting scooters for Scootaround and we will let you all know how that goes…so far we are finding very friendly and accommodating folks here in this downtown metropolis.

What a Huge Scare

In an instant, life sends you something that changes your life forever. That moment happened to us a few days ago. It was like any other day working the Scootaround tent, the clouds were there and it was raining off and on as it had for all the prior days while we were there. There was no warning…only a loud voice of a wonderful lady in the International Welcome tent across from us. She firmly spoke and warned everyone within earshot to run as fast as possible to the building and take cover.

When I looked up…the skies were green! The last time I seen skies like that there was a tornado nearby. And, even though we could not see one, we knew it was there.

Jerry had just left the booth to get us lunch so I called him immediately to return and he had already seen the skies and was heading back.

The building was only about 150 yards away, but the wind and rain made that run the scariest and longest run we have ever done. It felt as if every step we took, the wind knocked us three steps in the opposite direction. The good news is that we all made it safely to the building….what seemed like hours later, we were given the all clear. As we stepped out the devastation was all around us, there were tents down, including ours. We headed to our tent and began to grab some of the important things, like my computer, camera, and the contracts. And, then just a few moments later, we were again instructed to take cover…once again we ran to the building and waited for the all clear…again, it felt like hours.

We did salvage the contracts, they were wet but before leaving our tent I threw all sorts of heavy stuff on top of them so they were fine. I had crammed my computer and camera into my backpack but I forgot to grab it when we took off running, so they did get wet but we still had them. It took a few days to dry them all out and I did have to purchase a new cord for my computer but we are so grateful but still very frightened at any sign of bad weather.

We will eventually get over this fear but for now we are having to console it anyway we can. With all the big hype about this major storm threat right in the path of our travels, we decided to honker down and get a hotel for the night since it is suppose to hit the hardest around 2am…

Please stay safe!