6:00 a.m. - Yesterday was a decent second day of Vacation 26. After getting up and around, we drove about 15 minutes west to a tourist trap that Darren had told us about. According to him, it had been a strip club and then was somehow forced out of that line of business, so it became a candy and fudge (and novelty) tourist trap. It was called Uranus Fudge Factory and General Store. It reminded me a little of Wahl Drug in South Dakota, and like Wahl Drug there are a lot of signs on the highway for miles promoting the business. There were a lot of people for 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and we walked around and did buy some fudge - I haven't had any yet. I also got a picture with the World's Biggest Belt Buckle! After that, we hung around the camper until Amber got bored and decided we needed to play pickleball. I had talked it out of her earlier saying it was too hot, and it was even hotter then around 2-3 p.m. But we did find our way to the pickleball court which wasn't too far from Darren's house, and we did play a couple of games in the heat. Then we made our way to a local ice cream shop and had a treat. On the way back we stopped at a Dollar General and picked up a couple of items. Last evening we invited Peyton and Darren over for a visit and some supper. I cooked some burgers on the Blackstone, and Amber had plenty of sides to go along with the meal for the four of us. We had a nice visit, even though we had to stay in the camper because of the warm temperatures outside. As I was cooking the burgers, I neighbor pulled in and he was originally from East Peoria, so we talked a bit, and he gave me a tutorial on setting/testing my trailer brakes, so that's something I'm going to try to do today. Accurate trailer brakes will help today, as we are pulling out and heading back out on Interstate 44, which is going to get bigger hills as we head west towards Springfield and then south for Branson. My guess is that I don't have the brakes set strong enough. I just hope I don't screw anything up, but it's something I need to do.
So the plan is to pull out of here and then head to a Buc-ee's in Springfield. Amber has been to a Buc-ee's, but this will be my first time. And then we are making our way to Branson. It's not a long drive today compared to Saturday. It's about 3 hours, and we don't have to be out of here (Doolittle Acres) until 11 a.m., and we can't check into The Embers until after 2 p.m. So this isn't a hurry up day, but it will still be a drive, I'm not real comfortable with. The long downhills for me just aren't fun. I'll be glad to see the campground when we get there.
Things to do for School
- get display project completed
- finalize placement of schools on district map
- periodically add to the RR group history report
- periodically check on mail at post office
- update attendance each week in SDS
- send any IEP notices to Mrs. Saey
OTHER THINGS
- pay Joe for vb clinic
When: Saturday, August 8th, 2026
Site: Galesburg High School (Kimbrough Fieldhouse)
Classroom and 3 Courts are all air conditioned
Registration: 8:00 AM
Cost: $35.00 in advance or $45.00 at the door
Dress: Casual * Please bring your whistle, soft soled shoes, and a writing utensil
Contact: Joe Thompson - joethompson7@comcast.net (309) 368-1714
Send checks payable to: Foremost Officials Clinic
Attention: Joe Thompson
1035 Dayton Drive
Galesburg, IL 61401-1310- call eye doctor about refill
- eye drops and meloxocam
- grease wheels to camper
- clean slide rails
- remove any unnecessary weight from camper
- get correct measurement of the correct wiper slide material
- order slide wiper conditioner
- get Amber's bike fixed
- mow the yard
- spray weeds
- spray Creeping Charlie
- finish paying knee medical bills and get reimbursed
- use Dick's gift certificate
- a hood light switch for the Ford
- July 18-27 - Trip to Branson, MO (and Strawberry, AK) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D3BB0_IuwRs0WDKqm1Euor9WUH84SeF1DIwKi7OWeS4/edit?tab=t.0
- July 28 - Bus Refresher Course
- July 31 - Adventureland trip
- Aug. 3 - WCOA Banquet in Macomb (Tony is interested)
- Aug. 8 - Galesburg volleyball clinic 8 a.m.
- Aug. 27 - 7:30 a.m. - Appointment with Hussain at ORA Moline
- Nov. 5 - 10 a.m. - Milan Optical
- What/Where is South Buffalo Prairie School and for that matter West Buffalo School and East Taylor Ridge School? ugh.
- Friday Tidbit on the RR History Network Page
- March 11 - 10:25 a.m. - ORA Moline - Consult
- April 1 - 1:45 p.m. - ORA Moline - MRI
- April 9 - Walk in labs at Tr
- April 15 - Dr. Wang pre-op physical (surgical clearance) 8:45 a.m.
- April 28 - 9:40 a.m. at ORA Silvis
- April 30 - 10 a.m. - Milan Optical
- May 4 - surgery on left knee at Trinity Moline
- May 5- returned home from hospital
- May 6 - home recovery
- May 7 - home recovery
- May 8 - home recovery - visited ICE for about an hour - 9-10 a.m.
- May 13 - 8:45 a.m. Post-Op Appt Hussein
- May 15 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- May 18 - noon - ORA PT
- May 20 - 8 a.m. - with Brandon; 9:20 - ORA PT
- May 22 - 9 a.m. - ORA PT
- May 26 - 3:20 p.m. - ORA PT
- May 27 - 9 a.m. - ORA PT
- May 29 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 1 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 3 - 8:40 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 5 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 8 - 9:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 10 - 8:40 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 12 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 16 - 10:20 a.m. - ORA
- June 24 - 9:00 a.m. - ORA PT- Cancelled
- June 25 - 9:25 a.m. - ORA appt with Hussein
