Tunica, Mississippi is home to about a dozen casinos.  We had parked in the RV Park at the Sam's Town Gambling Hall at the end of April and enjoyed our stay, especially as it was a profitable one.  On Monday, May 1 we headed north and in a few short hours had been in four states as I-55 took us from Mississippi into Tennessee near Memphis and then into Arkansas and up to Missouri.  Continuing north, we visited "Camp Wal*Mart" in Jackson, Missouri and Lincoln, Illinois and then arrived in Rockford, Illinois and the Blackhawk Valley Campground on Wednesday, May 3.

From our site at Blackhawk Valley it was just short of 18 miles west to the new home of our daughter Ann, her husband Matt and their three girls. The new house is in a sub-division built around a good sized lake (their house is on an "off-lake" street) and has a sand beach, boat dock, swimming pool, community center, an 18-hole golf course and a bike path through the community.  It's located about an hour and a half west of O'Hare Airport and near the Wisconsin border, surrounded by farms.   Ann and family, including a large yellow lab and several tropical fish, had moved into the house about two weeks before our arrival after having spent several weeks living in a hotel following their departure from Ohio.  By the time we arrived, they were all getting used to their new home, routines, school and Matt's new assignment as "Plant Engineer" for the Pactiv Corporation in Belvidere.  During our ten days in the area we helped with a few of the many tasks that come with moving into a brand new house including installing screen doors, garage door openers, and curtains and unpacking lots of boxes.  Our timing was fortunate in that we were able to attend the First Grade Spring Musical at the Pecatonica Elementary School in which Close Ann had a speaking part, and Mary was the adult "helper" when Coffey Ann demonstrated her baking skills (and favorite "going to Grandma's activity) to her third grade class while making chocolate chip cookies.  Tom made an evening run to the ER with Merrick Ann (5 yrs. old) and Ann after Merrick "kissed the curb with her forehead" getting off her scooter.  They were all impressed with the professionalism and quick service at the Freeport, IL hospital.   Major shopping has to be done in Rockford, so we made several trips back and forth.  By the time we make our next visit there should be a new driveway and freshly planted grass.
 
 

Ann and Matt's new house near Winnebago, IL...a split level with a three car garage.	The back of the house...just don't try using the kitchen door for a while.	A view of part of the lake at the Westlake Village development.	The Pecatonica Elementary School First Grade. Close Ann is the one on the far left in the back row.

We tried to think ahead and choose a good time to drive the rig through Chicago on our way to our next destination in Michigan.  We researched the mileage of various routes and "weighed" the cost of fuel and tolls and our final choice found us making the trip with a 4pm start, on Saturday afternoon May 13, from a shopping center lot in Rockford where we had parked the rig for several hours after checking out of the campground in the morning.  It took us about  three hours to get from Rockford, through Chicago via I-90 to I-94 and east to Gary, IN.  There was lots of construction with narrow lanes and we inched our way through the narrower toll booths to pay about $9.00 in tolls.  To their credit, the State of Illinois is in the process of  reworking their toll roads to lower the number of toll booths and to keep traffic moving.  If we do this very often maybe we should invest in the "I-PASS" which is the electronic fee system, which is actually about 50% of the manual tolls. After reaching Indiana we stopped at a Flying J to top off our fuel tank as our research had confirmed that prices there are cheaper than in Michigan and Ohio.  By that time we were ready to get off the road for the night, so we made ourselves comfortable at the great rest area near Exit 1 of I-94 in Michigan.  The next day we drove on to Jackson, Michigan to celebrate Mother's Day with Mary's mother.  Along with Mary's brother Bill and his wife Beth, who drove up from Toledo, we took Mother to dinner at the Beach Bar at Clark Lake, MI.  The Dutch Star was parked at Mother's curb for an overnight visit, and we enjoyed some card games that evening and shared breakfast on Monday with Mother and Fran.

On Monday, May 15 we moved on to "The Vine" campground near Temperance, MI.  Temperance is a suburb of Toledo and we decided to try a different spot this year on our visit to the area. There really are no nice RV parking spots in the Toledo area and in the past we have stayed about 30 miles away from our favorite haunts, in  Monroe, MI.  The Vine is about 10 miles closer to the places we go most often, is a smaller campground and somewhat less expensive (a good consideration as fuel prices keep climbing).  The owners, Mark and Margie Bauman are working very hard to improve the facility that they took over several years ago and are doing a great job.  We were parked on one of just 7 full hook-up sites and there are 65 water and electric sites as well as some tent sites.  The campground also has a lodge for large gatherings and a bunk-house used for group retreats.  There is a large pond used for catch-and-release fishing at one end and on the other end is a sand beach and swimming area with a large inflated water slide and trampoline...lots of family fun.  The campground did not officially open until Memorial Day weekend, so it was pretty quiet while we were there.     From the 15th to the 23rd of May we had various dentist and doctor appointments and had a chance to visit with family and good friends.  Tom also made the yearly visit to the Lucas County Family Services to certify his mother's Medicaid status.  We are grateful that they take care of her nursing home care.

The Family Motor Coach Association G.L.A.S.S. (Great Lakes Area Spring Spree) Rally is one of our favorites.  It is always held over the Memorial Day Weekend in Berrien Springs, Michigan at the Youth Fair Grounds and this was the 6th time we have attended.  We left The Vine Campground on Wednesday, May 24th and drove to meet our friend Jacques Everhart and his friend, Jo Gettys, and travel together to the rally.  We were part of the 925 or so coaches in attendance and enjoyed shopping the vendor area, going to seminars and the evening entertainment, and looking through new coaches.  Jacques and Jo taught us how to play the card game GOLF that we've heard others talk about.  The weather was great - with a little rain on occasion the first two days and after that it was HOTand sunny.  Many years we've gone to the evening entertainment in the grandstand wrapped in our winter coats and blankets.  This year it was shorts and T-shirts!!!
 
 

Our spot at the G.L.A.S.S. Rally...Red Row 8 at the Berrien County Youth Fair..parked next to our friend Jacques Everhart's Bounder.	Tom having a discussion with a vendor trying to sell him an electronic massage unit.  (no sale!)	Jo, Jacques, Tom and Mary enjoying a happy hour in a shady spot between the rows of parked coaches.	Part of the crowd enjoying the evening entertainment in the covered grandstand.

On Monday, May 29, Memorial Day, we attended the Remembrance Ceremony at the rally.  The Berrien Springs High School and Middle School Bands marched through the fairgrounds from their school buildings next to the fair, and played for the ceremony at the flag pole.  Afterwards, we took enough time getting organized that we didn't have to wait in line to exit the fairgrounds.  Traffic on I-94 was not too bad, either, as we drove to Jackson to spend some time once again with Mary's mom and step-dad.  We taught them how to play the card game, Golf, that we had learned at the rally and had a great time visiting.  Early on Tuesday morning we had a terrific rain, but by breakfast time it had stopped.   After some more card games and visiting, we moved on to the Cabela's Store in Dundee, MI and took advantage of their RV Parking spot for the night.  On Wednesday morning we moved back into The Vine campground just north of Toledo where we had been before the rally.  After getting all settled in (first order of business...dumping the holding tanks - we made it 8 days without water and sewer hookups!!) we were able to make it to town for medical appointments that afternoon.

We've heard from quite a few of our RV buddies in the last several weeks...as the weather has gotten warmer, we've spread out all over the US and Canada and its fun to hear where people are and about the adventures they are having... at places we've been and places we're adding to our list of  "that sounds like a neat place to visit.  We'll be moving on ourselves in another week or so.