June 15 - 21, 2024 Future Blogs - Step Modification on Homer - Lake Shelbyville Campout

Future Blogs:

In reviewing my old blogs I noticed that the smaller pictures I posted in the past did not do the areas we visited justice. People like pictures. So from now on I will make all pictures larger.

Saturday the 15th:

First thing in the morning I got up and got dressed for church. I was sitting in the living room reading the news on my iPad when Kelly came in. I asked her what she was doing today. When she told me I laughed out loud. I had gotten dressed for church thinking it was Sunday! Wow! I never did that before. 

I changed into my work clothes and started on a project to modify the step treads going into Homer. The steps are electric. They come out but just not quite as far as they used to. I'm not sure exactly why. I've oiled everything, nothing is binding, etc. Neither of us are as sure-footed on steps as we used to be. Several times recently going in and of Homer we each scraped the back of our legs on the door threshold. 

Here is a picture of the steps fully extended.

We need more tread area to step on to. I added a 1 1/2 block of wood to each step to see if that will help us going in and out. With these extensions the steps will stick out a little further but they would not stick out any further than the back bumper. Here is a picture of the wood bolted on each step the width of the carpet runner.

The wood is cedar so it should not rot. Additionally, it is covered by outdoor carpet. The carpet on one of the steps was totally worn out so I went to Walmart and for $5.95 got a thin carpet door mat which I cut to fit the step. Here is a picture of the finished project. I don't like the look of the extended step ends so I may modify it later if it works out as I hope.

Sunday the 16th:

After church we loaded all the food in Homer as well as clothes. I drained the water heater and sanitized it with bleach to get rid of the sulphur smell which is caused by bacteria. I filled the water tank thinking we would not have a water hookup at the campground. After Homer was ready to roll I cut the grass. 

Monday the 17th:

The week started out with an early morning eye specialist appointment for Kelly in St. Louis which went very well. We arrived at the Wilborn Group Camp on Lake Shelbyville about 3:00 p.m. I was soaking wet by the time we got Homer level for the week. For supper our hosts provided a delicious meal of spaghetti, salad, and dessert. There were seven rigs at this camp out and we all visited after supper, forgoing a campfire due to the heat.

Tuesday the 18th:

At 10:00 a.m. we had a tour of IHI Turbo in Lake Shelbyville. They are a Tier 1 supplier of turbochargers and superchargers to most manufacturers of diesel, gasoline and natural gas vehicles. The tour started off with a brief history of the company which has plants all over the world.

During most of the tour we were not allowed to take pictures. Here is a picture of some superchargers ready to ship.

Here are a box of turbo chargers ready to ship.

The difference between a turbo charger and a supercharger is that a turbo charger is powered by the exhaust from the engine. This creates a little lag. A supercharger is belt driven by the motor so the response is much faster and the full consumption is much greater as well. The plant is highly "robotic" with most of the equipment made in Italy. We couldn't take pictures of those. Here is a picture of Kelly posing and we left the building.

From IHI we traveled to Longbranch Grill in Shelbyville for lunch. After lunch we went to a couple's home to see their "Goat Tower". They got the idea from one in Europe. There are only a few around. The structure is brick with an area to lay around in on each level. The ramp up is made of wooden boards. The goats love to climb and watch everything going on in their surroundings.

The goats are are a special milk goat and are very curious. As soon as we approached all but one came down to check us out and to get a back rub. 

This couple also had a sculpture installed which is made of rocks which are cut a certain way so that you can play them like a xylophone. Each rock had a different tone. This was really cool. Jamie and Dennis gave it a try.

Here everyone is listening to information about the artist and her various works of this kind.

At 3:00 p.m. we were back at the campground for some board games. At 5:30 p.m. we headed out for dinner at "Monical's Pizza" in Sullivan. Back at the campground after supper Dennis built a great campfire which everyone enjoyed despite the heat.

Wednesday the 19th:

Dennis and Jamie live next to Lake Shelbyville and have a very nice pontoon boat. They took everyone for a ride to the Findlay boat ramp. There we got off and hiked up the ramp to the pavilion for a picnic lunch which they prepared.  While it was a hot day the boat ride was cool and the pavilion up on the hill caught a nice breeze. Here are some pictures of us enjoying the boat ride.

A great lunch at the pavilion.

Back at the campground just about everyone participated in a game of "Nickels". Kelly and I introduced the group to the game. We learned about it from our Michigan friends a couple of years back. With about ten people playing the winning pots got large. Afterwards two in the group wanted me to send them the rules so they could take it back to their friends back home.

For supper our hosts once again prepared a meal for us of sausages, onions, peppers, and potatoes. Everything was already cooked. You picked what all you wanted, wrapped it up in foil, then put it in over the coals to warm it up. It was delicious. A great idea for a way to fix food for people with different tastes.

After supper, due to the heat, we did not have a campfire but we did sit around and visit until after dark.

Thursday the 20th:

Our hosts provided donuts, coffee, juice, and fruit for breakfast. We then held a brief chapter business meeting, part of which was to line up hosts for campouts next season. Kelly and I volunteered to host a campout next May.  After the meeting we broke up for lunch on our own. At 1:00 p.m. we headed to Sullivan, Illinois, to see a live production performed at the "The Little Theatre on the Square". This small theater has been putting on live productions for decades. I was amazed that they had such a wonderful venue in the small town of 4,200 people. The show we saw was "Honky Tonk Angels". These productions are not by local talent but by national talent brought in for each show. This production included three ladies as the characters and a six piece live band. Here is a picture of the Playbill. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside.

We were in the balcony and had wonderful seats. The acoustics, lighting, and sound was wonderful. A delightful afternoon show.

After the show we headed to "Rosie & Irl's Smokehouse Saloon" in Findlay, Illinois, for a menu with many different smoked options. Due to the size of our group we had to sit outside on the patio but it was covered and there were overhead fans so it was comfortable even with the heat.

When we arrived back at the campground we once again decided it was too hot for a campfire. After several hours of visiting and swapping stories we all hugged and headed to our rigs. Everyone would be pulling out at different times in the morning so this was our "goodbye". 

Friday the 21st:

On Friday everyone left on their own schedule. Some only had about an hour's drive. Some, like us, had a four hour drive. Even though it was hot all week it was a great campout. Our next chapter campout is in August. The Midwest RV Club is having a campout in July. Kelly and I may attend it. We haven't decided yet.

I was pleased at how well the step tread extensions worked. I'll spruce them up later on when it is cooler to work on stuff outside.

We arrived home around 3:00 p.m. and unloaded everything from Homer. About 5:30 p.m. our daughter, Annie, her husband, Adam, and our two granddaughters, Violet and Wren, arrived from California for a weeklong visit. We ordered pizza and chilled out for the evening. So good to see them all!