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The National Antietam Battlefield

Hey Dad,
While everyone is taking showers I thought I’d update you on our RV travels.

Tuesday we stopped off at Harper’s Ferry and learned all kinds of stuff about John Brown and his attempt to arm and free the slaves in the south. It was an easy stop and a mighty beautiful spot to stop.

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Greetings from Sunny GA

Hey Dad,

Greetings from Commerce, GA. We’re taking showers at a Flying J as we make our way to Harrisburg, PA. It’s sunny and warm, and we’re loving it (after all the rain). While we were in Atlanta we stopped at the Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Museum.

Like all Presidential museums we all felt inspired at how normal guy rises to the level of president. With President Carter it was even more thrilling knowing that he is a real Christian. In fact, you can even stop in his church (Maranatha Baptist church) and listen to him teach Sunday school. He wasn’t teaching over Mother’s day…but he will be teaching the class this coming Sunday. Man, I wish we could hang around.

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Mount Rushmore, SD

Hey Dad,

I’ve got a few moments of quiet as everyone is out of the RV except Cal(5) and I. The girls are in Kohl’s and the boys are in Best Buy. It’s windy here in Rapid City, SD. As soon as everyone come back in we’re headed south and ready for some warmer weather.

After nearly abandoning our side trip to SD in light of the extra expense of the breakdown in Blue Earth, MN we decided to forge onward and darn the torpedoes kind of thing and do what we ‘set out to do.’

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Broken…but not beaten

I’m writing from a hotel in Blue Earth, MN. The Familyman Mobile is sitting in a giant garage waiting for a part to be installed tomorrow.

The story began earlier this morning when we left a blustery Walmart parking lot in Albert Lea, MN. In fact, it looked like a blizzard outside. Yuck.

Anyway, we were on a small detour to see Mount Rushmore while traveling southish to Oklahoma City, OK. Things were going well, and my wife had just gotten off the phone with her mother. As she shared all the details of a cold and great weekend in Duluth, I heard her say, “Yeah, we had a few problems…but they’re minor compared to breaking down.”

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Brrrr…in Duluth

Hey Dad,

Well…when you’re right, you’re right. It’s freezing here!!!! In fact, I was just talking to my wife and kids saying how we need to pray because it seems like Satan (if I can be so bold) likes to cause havoc in our family just as we’re setting up. That would be today.

Actually, it started last night when the heat turned off at about 5-6 AM. I think it was because the battery was low and the ignition wouldn’t ignite. I was right, because when I turned on the generator it fired right up. That means I might need two new coach batteries (I’ll need to have them checked).

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Where’s Toddo

Hey Dad,
We’ve stopped at a Loves Truck stop to do a little showering. At the same time the kids are watching an old episode of Hazel. They just don’t make shows like that now-a-days.

The hard things about RVing are the mundane tasks like showering, laundry, and…everything else. The problem is that as you’re showering…nine other people are waiting. Same thing with laundry or checking email. You do it together.

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Greetings from Rockport, IL

It turned out to be a mighty perty day for travelin’. Right now most of the Wilson’s are in Target as Ike (11+) uses a gift card to buy some latest Lego. I’m out in the RV fixen’ stuff while Jed (3) and Cal (5) build a fort in one of the bunks.

You’ve got to be kind of handy if your going to RV because things are always breaking…especially if you have kids. Why just in the last 24 hours I’ve had to work on the furnace (fixed it), one of the skylights that decided to blow open last night (fixed it), and the bathroom mini-blind that one of the kids pulled off the wall (fixed it).

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Hot to Cold

Hey Dad,

Greetings from the Wal-mart parking lot in Jeffersonville, IN. The sign says No Overnight Parking…but the good folks inside said I could stay if I stay in the shadows.

Had a great time in Montgomery, AL. Enjoyed the warmth and am trying to acclimate my mind for fridged Duluth, MN.

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Mr. Fix it

Today is Cal’s birthday (5). We plan to get to Montgomery, AL before noon and do some birthday activity…culminating in Chuck E Cheese. Cal is pumped. He announced that he’s going to stop sucking his thumb…we’ll see.

Yesterday, I fixed (temporarily) the awning with a clamp from Loew’s (see home page right hand side bar for photo). The day ended up being a great day fro travel. The was shining and the air was warm. I’m loving it.

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