PKHampton's Blog

Summer Update

pkhampton — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:40:09 +0000

Well, it has been a while since I wrote in this blog because not much has been happening. I have had my RV in the shop since early July trying to get my jacks fixed. I finally picked it up yesterday, 8-25-09 and am only hoping they finally have it fixed. I had planned on doing some traveling in July and August but was held up at home instead. I can’t say I have accomplished all that much these past two months but have been visiting friends and family in the hospital and nursing homes. My brother Fred had surgery about 1 1/2 weeks ago re 99.5% clogged artery but that has been fixed and he is doing great.

I wish I could say that I have been spending my time cleaning my house to a spotless condition but that is not the case either though I did get my windows washed inside and out and my blinds cleaned. At some point I am going to have to find something that will keep me busy but I’m not sure what that will be.

I am starting my plans to go to south Texas for the winter. Think I am going to go down earlier than my brothers which means traveling alone. I am excited about giving it a try though my brothers tend to cringe everytime I mention it. Oh well, they will get over it. But, actually I am so thankful for a family that loves me so much. God is so good.

Great Lakes Adventure – Day 19

pkhampton — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:25:51 +0000

Well, if you listen hard enough you just may hear this fat woman singing ’cause this adventure is finally over!!!! Actually we really did have a wonderful time but it is so good to be home. Our trip on Thursday (Day 18) was pretty uneventful, PTL!!!! Unfortunately on our trip home on Friday we were held up for quite a while with the horrible accident on the Will Rogers Turnpike where 10 people were killed. We saw it up close and personal and it made us sick to see the tragedy! Our hearts and prayers go to those families who have lost loved ones. After seeing this it made all of the problems that we endured seem so little and meaningless. I am thankful that God gave us a fun, safe trip, problems and all. Now it is time to start planning the next trip. Oh wait, I have to go to Wichita today and tomorrow for a reunion. Not sure when I am going to get to rest and do the laundry. Oh well, it will happen when it happens.

Great Lakes Adventure – Day 17

pkhampton — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:00:29 +0000

Well, we made it out of the campground by about 10:30 a.m. this morning, heading home. We drove for about 7 hours but wanted to stop early today so we could relax some before going to bed. It was decided that we would drive somewhere on the other side of Louisville, Kentucy. However, we did not count on all the traffic in Louisville at 5 p.m., especially when there was a major accident on the insterstate. We had to exit the interstate and try to take some back roads to find our campground. There was traffic everywhere and the streets were not marked very well at all so we were constantly in a right or left turn lane when we really didn’t want to turn. Because of all this, we got separated and I did not have the address of the campground so I had no idea where we were going, nor could I look anything up while I was driving in all the traffic. We were on the phone and driving all around Louisville for over an hour trying to find each other. I finally got out of all the traffic and pulled off the road so I could enter the address of the campground into my GPS. All this time I thought the campground was in Louisville but come to find out, it is in Clarksville, Indiana. What a way to learn my geography!!! Once I have my trusted GPS armed and set for GO, I go merrily on my way, confident that I can find the campground. Well, the GPS took me down a narrow 2 lane street which led to a 10-foot-overpass. I knew my RV would not fit under it. A car pulled up behind me and a burly-looking kind of man got out of the car and walked up to my driver’s window and said, “You can’t go under that bridge, you are going to have to back out of this street” (that would be about 3 blocks of backing). He asked me if I thought I could that. I said, “I sure can if that is what I need to do!” I have to admit that I didn’t know if this man was going to kill me and take my Big Fat Rolling Turd or if he was really going to help me.

I had Addison (9 years old) call my brother to tell him where we were and the current situation while I got out of the RV to unhook my car so I could back up my RV. It ended up that this burly-looking man was very helpful and kind. He helped me unhook the car then he directed traffic and guided me while I backed up and turned my motor home around. In the midst of all this, Gavin (5 years old) told me he had to go to the bathroom really, really bad. So, I told him to turn on the water pump and go to the restroom. In the meantime, my brother walked up as we were less than a block from the campsite. So, my brother drove my car while I followed my burly-looking friend to the round-about-way to the campground. He really was an angel. I asked him if he would take some money for his help and he replied, “I really hate to take the money just for helping but I could really use it right now.” What a joy it was to give him the money. I thanked him and told him that I would pray that God would bless his life. I thought he was going to cry. My pastor has been preaching about heroes in our lives and I will say this man is my kind of hero! I forgot to mention that I had forgotten that Gavin was sitting on the pot while I was driving and he was hollering at his sister Addison. She went back to check on him and said he was still sitting on the pot while holding on to the bathroom vanity with a face that you would only see on a roller coaster!!!

We finally made it to the campground where we set up before dark! We were able to eat dinner before 9 p.m. and the kids are now swimming in hopes of wearing them out so they sleep well tonight. Hopefully we will be home soon. Please pray that I will have nothing to write about from our trip tomorrow. I pray it will be uneventful and boring!!!!!

Hey, if I haven’t told you lately, I am sure glad you are my friend. I am so very blessed.

Great Lakes Adventure – Day 16

pkhampton — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:22:07 +0000

We are starting for home today. Not sure how far we will get but we had hoped to get started by 9 a.m. However, it was about 11 a.m. before we actually got on the road. We drove until about 7:45 p.m. before we stopped in Flatwoods, West Virginia. We made a couple of wrong turns and ended up at a car dealership. Because you can’t back up an RV that is towing a car, Fred got in a spot where he had to unhook his car so he could turn around in the dealer parking lot. I was not going to let that happen to me, so I cruised around all the new cars and trucks. The salesmen were all outside watching me making bets as to whether I could make it without hitting their cars or without having to unhook my car. But I surprised them all because I manuevered around like a pro. They were all pretty impressed. I was a nervous wreck.

We finally found our hidden-away campground and started setting up camp when it suddenly became very apparent that my automatic jacks were not working again. At one time I had my front wheels completely off the ground!!! My brother and I messed with that for over an hour while the kids went swimming. We were finally able to manually retract the jacks but could never get the RV level. Is this fun ever going to end????? If catastrophies are creating memories, these kids have enough memories for a lifetime!!!

Great Lakes Adventure – Day 15

pkhampton — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:33:13 +0000

Today we went to Niagara Falls and it was really cool! Our first adventure was to walk behind the falls and then out onto a platform that is close to the falls. And yes, we did get really wet but loved it. Took lots of great pictures which I will post later.

After the tour behind the falls, we went to see the Falls Fury which was a 4D movie showing us about the beginning of the falls. A couple of times through the movie, it felt like we were actually going over the falls in a barrell. And you guessed, we got wet again!

After a brief tour of the gift shops we headed out for the Maid of the Mists boat ride. That was fabulous!!!! And, would you believe it, we got soaked. But we all enjoyed it so much that we really didn’t care. This ended up being the kids favorite, and mine too.

After the boat ride we went to the gift shop for the next 45 minutes because the kids had some money that was burning a hole in their pocket. They all got a Niagara Falls t-shirt. While they shopped, I sat outside and enjoyed the view of the falls and watched people, all kinds of people.

Now, please understand, we had bought a package deal which included a people-mover bus that picked us up and took us to the various attractions. Well, after the boats and shopping, we went to the bus stop at about 6:30 p.m. We waited and waited along with another family who had been there longer than we. After about 15 minutes, we asked a policeman if they knew were the people-mover bus was, but she couldn’t help us. We finally stopped a car that was with Maid of the Mist services. They graciously made a phone call for us and found out that the people-mover transportation ended at 6 p.m. So, we could either walk or call for a taxi. We decided that we could walk to the main building where our park and ride shuttle bus would pick us up because it was just about 1 1/2 miles. So, huff and puffing, off we go to try to catch the shuttle. But can you believe it, the shuttle also quit running at 6 p.m. and the car was parked about 2 1/2 miles further. We all walked about 1/2 mile more, then Fred and Linda said they would walk and bring the cars back to pick us up. I know I am a whimp. Actually, at out-of-shape whimp, so I let them do it. It took them over an hour so it may have been even 3 or 4 miles. We are not sure. Fred just said it was a really long ways. However, we were finally all in our cars and headed out of Canada and back to the USA, or were we? Yep, we got lost trying to find the Rainbow Bridge that would take us across the border. We drove and drove and drove for at least 1 1/2 hours. Now understand that my brother is a sweetheart but he is also a male who has a Hampton hard-head. (I am so glad that I don’t have that Hampton trait!!!!) Finally, as we were turning around in a neighborhood I saw a couple who was out watering their trees and I said (via walkie talkies), “Fred, ask those people how to get to the bridge.” My sister-in-law, Linda replied, “He refuses to ask.” So I told him to stop because I was going to ask. Sure enough we were just a few blocks from the bridge but we could have been there all night at the rate we were going. By the time we got back to the states it was 10 p.m. and we still hadn’t had supper!!! Not sure I can hold up to many more days of vacation like this one.

Great Lakes Adventure – Day 14

pkhampton — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:15:33 +0000

What a beautiful day it is in Dundee, Ohio! I awoke early and got my RV ready to hit the road again. Even got my car hooked up early and then I went to a little church on the campground. There were about 50 people there and it was really nice service. Everyone was really friendly and welcoming even though all the women wore long dresses and I was in jeans.

After church I hit the road to go to Niagara Falls. I drove to Erie, PA where I met my family. I was there about 3 hours early so I set on the road side playing with my DS. But seeing my brothers RV pull up was sure a welcoming sight. It was sure good to see all of them.

We drove on to Niagara Falls but of course went the wrong direction so it took us about an hour longer than it should have so we didn’t get to the campground until about 10 p.m.

No matter how late it is, the kids think they need to eat supper so I grilled some cheese sandwiches and put them all to bed. They all four spent the night with me so Fred and Linda could have a little peace and queit. The kids decided they wanted to watch RV with Robin Williams. We all laughed a lot but also decided that we could add a few adventures of our own to his movie to make it even funnier. I just may have to write a book. I am going to have to either write a best sellar or find a job just to pay for the four new tires I have had to buy!!! Oh well, I will worry about all that when the American Express bill arrives.

Great Lakes Adventure – Day 13

pkhampton — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:04:01 +0000

I awoke this morning to heavy rain hitting my RV so I decided to just be a bit lazy and not get in a hurry to get on the road. Thankfully the rain stopped at about 8:30 so I walked over to Panera and bought a bagle. Then back to the RV to look at the maps and the campground book to decide what I was going to do for the day and night. I finally decided to go to about an hour south to Holmes County, Ohio, the largest population of Amish community in the US. So, I found a campground and made my reservation and then set out. On the road again!!!

I made it to Evergreen RV Park in Dundee, Ohio at about 11 a.m. Since the site I reserved was already empty, they allowed me to go ahead and park. Once set up, I took my car into some of my favorite towns, Kidron, Berlin, Walnut Creek, Mt Hope. I so enjoy the beautiful rolling hills and the peaceful Amish farm lands. It is so relaxing the peaceful to be here. I enjoyed walking around these quaint towns and shopping in the huge Amish hardware store and their fabulous furniture stores and of course eating some good Amish food. I am thankful for this unplanned stopped. I needed this day. I will make it an early evening tonight in preparation for my trip to Erie, PA to meet my family for the remaining two hour trip to Niagara Falls. Please pray the rest of the trip is trouble free but memorable none-the-less.

Great Lakes Adventure – Day 12

pkhampton — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:33:23 +0000

YEAH!!! HALLELUJAH!!!! I am free. They finally got the jacks working on my RV at about 1 p.m. on Friday. It then took a couple more hours to get all the paperwork done but I finally left Elkhart, Indiana at about 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon, headed for Niagara Falls. I didn’t care how far I got but I just wanted to get out of Dodge!!!

I set out on the Indiana turnpike and make it to Cleveland, Ohio at about 9 p.m. I had no idea where I was going to park because there aren’t a lot of camp grounds in that particular area. I tried a Wal-Mart parking lot but the one I picked didn’t seem like a good part of time so I traveled on. I finally stopped at a Cracker Barrel, went in and had breakfast and then parked in back of their restaurant for the night. Of course, it was right next to an active railroad track. But, I just turned on my generator for the air conditioner and slept peacefully through the night, thankful that God provided a safe place for me. Now I have to figure out what I am going to do on Saturday before I go on towards Niagara Falls to meet my family on Sunday.

Great Lakes Adventure – Day 11

pkhampton — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:32:29 +0000

Well, same song, verse 10, my RV is still not fixed. They worked on it all day long but found that what they thought was wrong was really okay but found something else wrong for which they had to call the jack manuafacturer to get yet another part. Will I ever get to return to Oklahoma???? I spent the day exploring Elkhart, Indiana which means I found the Wal-Marts and Targets and walked all through the stores acting like I was interested in buying something. I am ready for this nightmare to be over. The good news is that my family did arrive in Hershey, PA safely. Just wish I could be there with them. At this point, I am still hoping to meet up with the family for the trip to Niagara Falls. Please say a prayer that they will get my RV fixed on Friday. If not, I will be spending the weekend in Elkhart. Okay, I must think of the positive things. I have a place to stay that is dry and warm. I am in good health. I am safe. I am able to catch up on all my DVD’s. I am of all people most richly blessed!!!!

Great Lakes Adventure – Day 9

pkhampton — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:51:39 +0000

Well, my motor home is still not fixed. I finally talked Fred and Linda into going on to Hershey, Penn without me. They all hated to leave but I convinced them I would be fine. Not sure I really beleived that myself but what else could I do, I don’t want to ruin the trip for the kids. We have already had to revamp our trip as we should have already been to Niagara Falls by now but guess we will go there after Hershey. I am hoping my RV will be ready tomorrow and then I will drive on to Hershey and try to meet up with the family in a couple of days. Please pray that I have no more problems and that I can make it there safely. Wow, what a trip!!!!