Joliet, IL

      Every day Tom and I are on the road our lives becomes more adventurous. Today our first stop was a Flying J. It was on the way so why not refuel there? The highway traffic on Interstate 94 west wasn't bad. We didn't have any problems until stopping for fuel. The Flying J was packed with cars, trucks, tractor trailers, and even RV's. They were all lined up like gas was being given away. With lots of patience we got to the pump. I like to think I handled it well. Our Traveling Talisman used 39.943 gallons in 261.5 miles. The cost per gallon was $2.879. With a full tank we were back on the road. At some points the highway was four or five lanes wide. The fun part was when we were in the second lane on the left and we needed to move to the far right lane to get off our exit. Tom is still learning to be a co-pilot. After dealing with lots of traffic we finally made our destination in Joliet, IL. We traveled 174.00 miles to the Leisure Lake Resort. Thanks to our Passport America membership we were allowed to stay for $22.00 a night. Because Tom and I were staying for 14 days, the manager gave us a discount and our total came to $270.00. It was a good thing we emptied our gray and black water tanks at our last stay because the office informed us there were no full hook ups available. Our Traveling Talisman could only get electric and water. Naturally we accepted, what else could we do? Tom and I took care of our paperwork and headed over to our campsite. What a surprise we had. It was less than a city block away from the off- ramp of Interstate 80 east to Interstate 55 south. This was not going to be good for me. The highway noise was going to be way too loud and too close.

      Tracker trailers using their jake brakes made falling asleep difficult. All night long we could hear them. I finally got past the noise and a storm blowing through woke us up again. Tom and I got up since we couldn't sleep. The campground office opened at 8:00 am and I was there 10 minutes before. When I requested a different campsite, they advised me none were available and that I had to come back later to see if anyone left the park. An hour went by and I was at the office inquiring again. The receptionist advised me the same - to come back later. Several times I went back and every time they told me the same. Finally I decided to take a drive around the park. There were many empty sites available because several RVers had left. So I went back to the office and inquired about moving to one of them. It had been my fifth time to the office and this time I was determined to get a new campsite. The receptionist told me there were none, not knowing I knew otherwise. There was no more waiting. I requested to speak with the manager. Within 20 minutes he showed up and listened to my concerns about paying $270 for a two week stay, having no sewer hook-up and sitting so close to the highway with no possible way of getting sleep. When he advised me there was no other campsites available, my top blew. I told him I took a ride around the park and found unoccupied campsites. He said he'd check into them and get back to me.

      By lunch time Tom and I received a knock on the door. The manager arrived to let us know a campsite was available to us. It was located at the opposite side of the park, far from the highway where it couldn't be heard. The campsite was also a full hook-up site. I was happy to see my persistence paid off. We packed up everything. I drove our Traveling Talisman and Tom drove the van to our new campsite. We had a corner site viewing the woods. It was much better than the other. Tom set up the HughesNet satellite dish and some things inside. I helped with a few items inside and set up the outside. It had taken us half a day to move from one campsite to another. By late afternoon, almost evening, Tom took a nap. He must have been tired. I worked on financing and future reservations. When Tom woke up we watched a movie during dinner. I couldn't figure out how, but Tom was able to go back to bed right after our show was over. I would have been wide awake. Hopefully we'll have a better night rest than last night.

      I slept better than yesterday, but still not well. With our campsite being on the end of a row the campground traffic kept me up until midnight. After that, the members stopped coming in. Most of them were staying here as Leisure Lake members. They work during the day and stay here to get away from the city. Tom and I know what that was like. We used to do the same before our adventure started. Benny got us up early again this morning chewing on things. He chews on wires as a way to get attention. Some of the wires are covered, but he still chews. Today's forecast was calling for rain all day. We decided to wait until the weekend to photograph Chicago. I started working on our reservations, but wasn't able to finish because my laptop was too full. Some of my files needed to be moved to another hard drive. As soon as a good portion of my files were transferred I continued working on our reservations. Later in the day I planned to use a defragmenter on my laptop. Tom had a lot of programming to complete within the first few days of our stay here. We planned to concentrate on Chicago the remainder of our stay. In the middle of our work day I made a salad, sandwich, and soup lunch. Then as many reservations as possible were made.

      I had us scheduled as far as Newport, WA. When Tom and I planned our adventure we joined TT (Thousand Trails, including: NACO and Leisure Time Resort). We also joined R.O.D. (Resorts of Distinction) for additional places to stay. They were needed in order for us to get across the United States. As another alternative campground membership we joined Passport America. They give us a 50% discount on the cost to stay at parks across the country. As reservations were made I ran into a problem and had to call TT. I learned our membership doesn't allow us to go back to back from one to another using the same membership. We thought as long as we were going in the park using two different memberships, then we could use the system back to back. This in fact was incorrect. The rules state that if a park accepts both TT and R.O.D. memberships, then the member has to use their TT membership by default. The majority of our parks in the state of Washington accepted both memberships at their park. This made it difficult for us to use both memberships on our adventure while traveling in that state. I searched the west coast on-line for our campgrounds to prevent this situation. Tom and I talked about what we could do to make things less complicated for us. We decided to go for a bike ride, but somehow Tom's tires lost some air. A neighboring member let us use his air compressor to refill the tires and we continued on our way. After our bike ride we took Benny for a walk. By the time we returned to our Traveling Talisman it was time for dinner. We had some television stations available and watched the local news while eating dinner. When our meal was done and the news was over we retired for the night.

      We had an early rise this morning. There was a lot of work to get done during the weekend. This would free up our weekdays for photographing. Tom had a customer requesting some research on their website. He planned to work on getting his website caught up and I planned to process a report for his customer's research project. To get our morning going on the right path we started off with French toast for breakfast and then meditation. Afterward Tom went right to work on his website. I began my research project. All day we both worked diligently on our projects. Mine wasn't bad, just a little lengthy. It was almost 7:00 pm when I finished and time to make dinner. So I prepared a romaine salad with strips of beef on top. With it we had baked potato wedges with onions on the side. By the time we were done eating dinner it was 9:00 pm. I noticed the moon looked full. Tom said it was actually the night before a full moon. Usually we photograph on such a night because the moon appears larger. We missed our opportunity today. Although we were not able to get out and photograph, Tom thought it would be a great night for an evening bike ride. He was right. We were out riding for an hour in the moonlight. It was romantic, peaceful, and beautiful. I couldn't believe we were riding our bikes in Illinois by moonlight. This campground has two small lakes and they were both just as beautiful with the reflection of the moon in it.

      For my entire day I worked on a project for one of Tom's customers. I was to create a report on their website with a count of visits for a total of four months worth of visits. Yesterday I got two months done and today I got the other two done. It consisted of a lot of research. I'm not fond of research, but this was all about numbers and I really like numbers. Tom was planning to go into Chicago early tomorrow, so after we got done with work he made dinner. Shortly after dinner we retired for the evening.

Click on image to see a closer view

      We were up early for coffee. Tom and I planned to go into Chicago and photograph for the day. The drive was expected to be 46.4 miles long and might take an hour. There was no time to grab breakfast before leaving our Traveling Talisman. The decision was made to get breakfast there. We ended up running into a lot of traffic and construction. Our adventure started around 6:45 am and didn't end until 8:00. By the time we found parking and did some walking it was almost 9:30. We found a place with a bathroom called ASAP California Pizza Kitchen. The food was worth the walk. Tom had a Florentine Breakfast Pizza with spinach, feta cheese, and a special smoked Chicago bacon. I had an Italian omelet with roasted red potatoes and sour dough bread. It was definitely a suggestion as an eatery. We plan to be in Chicago tomorrow, perhaps we'll dine there again. As soon as our tummies were full, it was time to start photographing.

      Back in June, before the beginning of our adventure, a friend of mine asked if I could find a bronze statue of Bob Newhart and his sofa. She wanted a photograph of me with it. Finding it was difficulty, but we still continued our photographing adventure. Just before 1:00 pm Tom thought of Buddy and Benny. We couldn't remember if our Traveling Talisman air conditioner and vents were left running. The security system to alert us of problems wasn't set up. His mind wouldn't rest so we cut our day short for Buddy and Benny's safety. Everything was okay when we returned home. The air was on, but the vents were not running. It was a good thing our power didn't go out. Tom set up our security alert system for tomorrow's photo shoot. It was expected to be a great system that alerts us of intruders or power failure. We would get a cell phone call from the system if there was a problem back home. It even calls us if the temperature in our Traveling Talisman falls below 50° or raises above 95°. Tom did some testing for the security system while I search the internet and found the location of Bob Newhart's sofa. It was at the Navy Pier in Chicago. We're going to search tomorrow and see if it's still there. I also search the web to find the Oprah Winfrey Show. It's located at 139 N. Aberdeen Street in Chicago, IL 60607.

Click on image to see a closer view

      After my research was done the photographs on my camera were downloaded onto my laptop. This freed up space for tomorrows photo shoot. I took 129 images of Chicago along the Chicago River on the north side. To see my images, click on Chicago (07/30/07). We're excited about going again. It's very beautiful and clean, at least the area we visited today was. Tom and I were thinking about going for a swim in the campground pool, but never made it. There's a man made pond in the park with a beach that goes all the way around it. I'm not much for water I cannot see the bottom to. The other pond in the campground is not man made and swimming isn't allowed. You can go boating and fishing in it, but not swimming. Instead of going swimming, I made updates to my logs for today's events. Afterward I spent some time talking on the phone with my sister, Connie. When our conversation was over, Tom and I watched a little television and then hit the sack.

      We were going to get up extremely early (like 4:00 am) to go into Chicago for a sunrise photo shoot, but our security system needed more testing for temperature control. Unfortunately the security system was down the later part of our yesterday, so Tom needed to wait until today. After breakfast he made his phone calls. He wanted to make sure it worked okay. Tom found out the system needed to be installed on our Traveling Talisman roof. And we worked together to set up our connection. It was fun working together. By the time we were done, it was too late to head into Chicago. So we decided we'll try to make our sunrise photo shoot tomorrow. I thought I'd work on my website to update our stay in Arkona, Ontario. Tom was having a problem with a purchase over $200.00 he made with Toy Outlet four months ago. We never received the products and now he’s having difficult getting his money back. Tom had to contact his bank to file a complaint, in which he did today. We will never purchase anything more from them again and we don't suggest any one else to either. By the way, we found Target has the same products for less cost. Guess where we're going shopping? Before we knew it our day had passed.

Click on image to see a closer view

      Tom and I didn't get up early as we wanted for a sunrise photo shoot. We had a few things to do before heading into Chicago. Our last drive took an hour and a half. This time we didn't leave until almost 7:15 am and arrived in the city until 9:15. We were still able to get the parking garage early bird special. Finding a good restaurant for breakfast wasn't as easy and we ended up at McDonalds. After our meal we headed for the Navy Pier. Along the way we stopped at the John Hancock Center. It had an observation deck to photograph the city, but it was too hazy day. The city was on the south side with sunlight shining directly at us and our photographs wouldn't have been any good. Our adventure continued along Lake Michigan on the beach where we photographed the city skyline. It was amazing to see the beauty of Chicago. If there wasn't a winter snow and windy season here, we might want to make this a place to retire.

Click on image to see a closer view

      The Navy Pier wasn't far and we headed over. I was a little disappointed by the "Tourist trap" feeling at the pier. All the tour boat rides were $25.00 a person. The restaurants were crowded and expensive. We had an ice cream cone and I almost lost mine as it melted fast, making it difficult to enjoy. Tom and I were hungry, but neither of us wanted to eat at the pier and we walked back into the city. On the way we stopped at the Bob Newhart statue where Tom took my photo. The bronze sofa was in the direct sunlight and very hot. I wasn't able to pose long. We continued searching for food and found a clothing store where Tom bought a new shirt. Just across the street was an Indian restaurant called The Indian Garden. Their lunch buffet cost $11.95 per person. Afterward we continued our adventure to do some more photographing on the south side of the Chicago River. Tom video taped our walk while I photographed. He even had his sound recorder running to get some Chicago sounds for his website.

Click on image to see a closer view

      Because we took advantage of the early bird special parking, we had to be out of the parking garage before 7:00 pm. Otherwise it would have cost full price, $15.00 an hour. Naturally we made it back to the van in time. On the way home we drove around the west side of Chicago's residential areas to scope it out. When it got late we headed back on the highway to our Traveling Talisman. The 1-1/2 to 2 hour drive took a toll on us. Each round trip took 1/4 of a tank of gas. Our exhausting day lead us to retire as soon as we got home. Click on Chicago (08/01/07) to see images I took today.

      Tom didn't wake up as early as he usually does because yesterday wiped him out. He slept in and had his morning coffee with breakfast when he got up. Shortly afterward he started working on the temperature control to our security system. We weren't comfortable leaving Buddy and Benny in our Traveling Talisman without being sure it worked properly. The temperature was expected to be in the low to mid 90's during tomorrow's adventure in Chicago. Yesterday was a long walking day and we decided to stay home today. This gave us an opportunity to get caught up on our websites. I took a short break and got to meet our neighbors today. They were from Illinois and have five slide-outs on their fifth-wheel RV. My visit with them was interrupted by the campground lawn service. They were making me nervous when they mowed over an unoccupied RV's power cord and I wanted to be sure they didn't mow over ours. Luckily the cord they mowed over wasn't harmed. When they finished mowing around our Traveling Talisman, I headed inside. Besides, it was getting too hot outside. I sent a message to all the visitors that joined my website. New updates were added and I wanted them know. So far I have 14 joining my email list. After the message was successfully sent, then it was back to updating my website with new information and updates. Tom introduced me to a method of new buttons and links. I spent some time working with them and even added new links to Tom's website. We went for a 3 mile bike ride around the campground in the early evening hours. It was around dinner time when we returned home. Tom made a sausage and rice dish. During our meal we were entertained with an on-line Netflix move. Shortly afterward we retired for the night.

      This morning I took Benny for a walk while Tom meditated. Benny just loves to be outside. I did not set up his Kittywalk because we where going to be away photographing most of our stay. Benny just had to accept going for walks. We are heading into Chicago to photograph night images. The parking garage cost $8.00 after 2:00 pm. There was no time to get involved with big projects this morning since we were leaving the campground around 12:00. Instead, I worked on getting caught up on a few domestic duties while Tom made some business calls and updated his website, travelingtalisman.com. We had lunch, fed Buddy and Benny (made sure they had enough until we got back) and then we were off to night life in Chicago. One of our camping neighbors said the movie "Batman" was being filmed downtown by Wacker Street. I cannot photograph at night and plan to carry the equipment while watching Tom's back as he photographs. On the way into the city, our air conditioning in the van died. I'll have to deal with it later. We found parking on the south side of Chicago for $12.00. A lot of garages and parking lots wanted $15.00 to $20.00 to park.

      First, we headed for Lake Michigan to see what we could photograph. There was a Lollapalooza Music Festival in Millennium Park. We made our way around the crowd attending the festival, and then a walk along the lake. There were sail boats and motor boats all along the park. The view of the lake was beautiful, as well as the skyline of the city. We headed into the city after photographing along the lake. The Outdoor Concert Pavilion, the Cloud Gate and the Crown Fountain in Grant Park were stopping points along our adventure. Tom and I spent a lot of time in the park. There were art sculptures everywhere. When it started to get near the evening, we headed back to the van to get the tripod and video recorder. We got a bite to eat and then took some night shots of Chicago. It was a beautiful night. Tom took some photos around the Chicago River. As we walked around, we found ourselves near the area that the movie Batman was being filmed. Security made us put our camera equipment away. All we wanted to do was photograph the building in the area because of the way they were lit, but they wouldn't let us. By then it was after 10:30 pm and we were tired. To see images I took today, click on Chicago (08/03/07). We walked our way back to the van and headed for Traveling Talisman. Traffic on the way back was bad. It took us almost two (2) hours to get back because of all the night time construction. We didn't get home until after midnight.

      I was not in the mood to get up with Benny, but at some point you have to. He was determined to get me up and feed him. Since I was up, I made coffee. By the time coffee was done, Tom had made pancakes for breakfast. The weather was calling for rain today. We had already decided we would stay home to get caught up on some work. Tom had some more reports for me to do for one of his customers. I worked on the reports until lunch. Tom was updating his website. For lunch I made tuna, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches. We had yogurt for dessert. Earlier, we had noticed our tanks were full and needed to be emptied. Instead of getting back to work, we thought it was perfect timing to empty the tanks. For the last few days we have been using our fresh water tank. The water in the tank was almost a month old and needed to be used. We finally used it up. While empting our tanks, Tom and I tested the timing of water flow, to help flush our tanks. Using an old milk jug, we timed about 11 seconds per gallon. Of course, based on the water pressure the time would change. Anyway, the water from the spigot was milky brown. To our surprise, a neighbor had informed us the campground water pressure had stopped and no one had water for the last few days. That was funny because when we decided to use up our fresh water tank, we had no idea the park had problems. The water pressure was back up by the time we were ready to flush. That was good timing. As soon as we were finished flushing our tanks, it started to rain. Again, it was perfect timing. We went in to continue our projects. I got done with my reports around 5:00 p.m. Tom and I then went grocery shopping. It seems the further west we travel, the more groceries cost. On our way back we stopped to refuel the van. Gas was $3.99 per gallon. When we returned to our Traveling Talisman, we put away groceries and made dinner. During dinner, we watched another Netflix movie on-line. The internet was some how disconnected in the middle of our movie. Tom wanted to head back into Chicago for the sunrise photo shoot we've been trying to make. We decided to retire for the night instead of going back on-line to finish our movie.

Remember to visit travelingtalisman.com by Tom Reider.