20210526 - 0602 St. Peters, MO 20210602 - 0605 Potosi, MO, 20210608 - 0613 Sunbury, OH

Our new Sleep Number Bed and visiting Loretta near Bonne Terre Missouri. Then heading east. 

370 Lakeside Park, St Peters, Missouri - 27 May - 31 May 2021

One of our regular stops near St. Louis. A very nice, large community park and campground. 

What? No mattress! Our new Sleep Number bed is in pieces. We better get busy if we don't want to sleep on plywood. We want to send an extra special Thank You to Jim and Jan for allowing us to have this shipped to them and letting us leave our old mattress for pick up at their house. We certainly could not have done this without your help and thoughtfulness. Two years trying to replace the original RV mattress because Sleep Number would not deliver it to a non-residential location and then Covid crashed the delivery system. 

First the area is cleaned. Next we read the manual and start the build process. The air pump goes under the platform so a hole has to be drilled through the wood to allow the air tubes to attach to each liner. Using the remote to fill the liner. What's your number?

Read all the instructions. Zip on the mattress pad and cover and finish filling. Easy as pie. Now there is more room to move around since we retired a king mattress and got a queen. I'm tired... let's go to bed. 💤

Only clean dogs are allowed in bed. Tori gets a bath. Can't understand why a dog that enjoys going into rivers is so sad when she gets a bath.  

We 💗 our campground at Twin Eagle Lake Estates and Hideout, Potosi, Missouri - 02-05 June 2021

We stay at this campground when we visit our cousin, Loretta. It's an all gravel campground but the sites are long and generous in width. The lake is big enough for boats and there is a "beach" for swimmers. 

Loretta enjoys Tori's company because she understands what it is like to get older.  She love's the way Dakota is constantly talking (though we call it whining). We hear lots of stories and try to help Loretta with little things like changing lightbulbs and batteries.

The traditional impatiens in the front garden needed some watering while we were there. Two turtles being friendly in the backyard and Dakota telling everyone about their activities. 

A brief stop at Sunbury KOA in Ohio 08 -13 June 2021

A short stay in Ohio before continuing on to Pennsylvania. We were happy to have a site back in the Boondocks since most of the day was shaded. Hot and steamy in Ohio so Tori needed a nap after a walk around the park. 

20210519 - 0525 Marengo, IL

A visit to Chicago

A nice walk to Lake Michigan - 20 May 2021

Lake Michigan with Loyola University in the background. Kristen flew in for our visit with Betty and Norm. A surprisingly warm May until we walked over to the Lake Michigan shore where the temperatures dropped by 10 degrees. 

Morning at Betty and Norm's, a day at the Museum and dinner out - 21 May 2021

Betty and Norm's cozy living room and bright sun room with bay windows.

The famous Field Museum of Chicago.

In classic Kristen style, she has her own unique vision of photography and is not shy about getting the perspective while lying on the floor. The duo pachyderm scene, "Fighting African Elephants", has stood sentry in the main hall since 1905.

The newest exhibit tracked the career of Jane Goodall from childhood through her innovative study of chimpanzees in Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park. The exhibit contained early childhood items and a replica of her field research tent. It also uses augmented reality technology allowing guests to interact with hologram-like projection of Dr. Goodall.

Backyard seating at the Anteprima Italian restaurant. A delicious meal but be aware of the falling tree seeds. And watch your time which is limited to 50 minutes. With dining just starting up again after the Covid lockdown, restaurants are limiting patrons seating time to maximize the turnover of tables. 

A covid car and lunch with Michaela and Byron - 22 May 2021

Walking around there are some interesting things to see including this coronavirus car. Maybe it was just an artistic statement or a political one but it certainly attracted some attention. 

Lunch with Michaela and Byron at Machine Engineered Dining & Drink. Bob and Betty got the fancy drinks while Byron and Michaela promoted a less than savory libation, Jeppson's Malort Liqueur. As we understand it, Malort is very nasty tasting which seems to make it a challenge for the adventurous types.  

Last Day, Neighborhood art, Breakfast, Goodbyes - 23 May 2021

A nice morning walk with the dogs past the self-expressive gardens around Betty and Norm's neighborhood. 

A hearty breakfast of French toast and fruits. All these years of visiting and we never noticed the gargoyle above the door. 

Heading back to our trailer it was a bit crowded in the back seat. 

Airport "Goodbye". Always enjoy spending time with Kristen.