While we have not been to Skokie for over seven years (at Michelle & Nathan’s wedding), the impact is even greater for Mom/Dad. When they left Skokie in November 2019 little did they know that they would not be back for 17 months! Their original plan took them to Las Vegas for a week, then visiting with Bette-Karen & Bill in Tucson before we picked them up at the end of January 2020 to spend a month in Yuma before heading back to Mukilteo (with a short stopover in Las Vegas). The plan was to spend a couple weeks in Mukilteo with us before flying back home to Skokie in March. However, that is when Covid hit, making it unsafe to fly. They pushed their flights out a month, then another, and another… always hoping things would be better in another month. However, things did not get better and we decided to drive back to Yuma the following winter. Now, after four months and with all of us fully vaccinated, it is finally time to head to Skokie!
Our itinerary is as follows:
We will spend an extra day at our first stop near Flagstaff to visit The Petrified Forest National Park as well as the Painted Desert.
April 7, 2021
After last minute preparations and loading up Mom and Dad, we hit the road just after 7:00. Along our drive we encountered varied desert landscapes with mountains mostly as a backdrop (and driving through some for a little while). There were some green irrigated fields but mostly it was rocky with different kinds of cacti including lots of saguaro. We stopped at the Sunset Point Rest Area in between Phoenix and Flagstaff to have a nosh consisting of broccoli quiche and poppyseed muffins about 11:15. There was a scenic viewpoint overlooking a valley backed by mountains that was very pretty and allowed us to stretch our legs a little bit. Approaching Flagstaff we were at an elevation of about 6,000-7,000 feet and the temperature dropped to 72 degrees – wonderful after the 90+ degree days in Yuma! On the horizon we could see a snowcapped peak called Humphrey’s Peak at 12,637 feet. It’s the highest of a group of dormant volcanic peaks known as the San Francisco Peaks. We arrived at OK RV Park in Holbrook, AZ, right on schedule at 3:00. Laurie hooked up electric and water (since the water pump was having intermittent issues) and we settled in. Dinner was slow cooker BBQ beef, potato salad, and coleslaw. After dinner we walked over by the RV park office where they had a display of petrified logs that were beautiful to look at and gave us a taste of what was to come the next day. In the evening Dad had a speaker phone call about possible fraudulent use of one of his credit cards. Throughout the call we could hear a rooster crowing in the background! It turns out the customer service rep was in the Philippines where it was morning and he had at least one rooster helper. The last thing we heard before Dad hung up was one last loud rooster crow. It was quite comical! We then watched some CNN and turned in early after a long day.
April 8, 2021
We got an early start about 8:30ish and headed to the Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert about half an hour away. It was a gorgeous day with a few clouds around and the temperature got up to 75 degrees in the park, but it was very windy. Mom and Dad bought Laurie a Lifetime America the Beautiful National Park Pass for a birthday present which we made use of entering the park. They added a Park Passport later to keep track of the parks we visit as well as stamps for today’s parks. The park is basically a 28 mile drive which we did south to north, stopping at various points of interest. The first area was the Petrified Forest. We stopped at the visitor’s center to gather information, then briefly checked out the area behind the center which had a hike and an abundance of petrified wood which we briefly examined before heading on. Petrified wood is amazing to look at with it’s varied, often brilliant, colors making each piece unique. We got most our exercise for the day at our first stop, the Crystal Forest, which is a ¾ mile loop hike with many petrified logs glimmering with quartz crystals along the way. Mom and Dad were real troopers throughout the hike despite several inclines and strong winds.
Blue Mesa was another spectacular area with layered weathered outcrops in shades of white, gray, and bluish gray. Another stop was Newspaper Rock which was a short walk to an observation area with telescopes where we could look down on several huge rocks with 650 Puebloan petroglyphs, some as old as 2,000 years! The entire drive we saw amazing expansive views but the area that stood out was the Painted Desert at the north end of the park. The road in the area had many stops with unbelievable lookouts to observe vast areas of colorful, layered rock formations, with red being the predominant color. At the Kachina Point outlook we talked with a park volunteer (named Jerry Treanor) who gave us information about the park as well as told us about his life as a volunteer. He was very friendly and interesting, and suggested that we visit the Cowboy Dinner Tree when we visit Crater Lake in Oregon. This only scratches at the surface of what we experienced at the park today! Happy, tired, and out of adjectives to describe all that we saw, we returned to the RV to rest, chat, watch CNN, and have a repeat dinner of yesterday.
April 9, 2021
We were on the road by 7:00 on a pleasant, sunny, 70ish day. Our travels today took us east through 2 time changes, from Arizona through New Mexico and into northern Texas. Again there were many different, “multi-adjective” worthy landscapes to observe along our drive. With the two times changes we arrived at Oasis RV Resort in Amarillo at 6:00 after stopping to gas up at Love’s just up the street. It’s a very neat, clean park with almost all 75’ pull-thru’s. Mom’s spaghetti and garlic bread started a relaxing evening.
April 10, 2021
Happy Birthday Laurie! Once again we hit the road just after 7:00. The sun was just a glow on the horizon but it progressed into a bright, sunny morning. The Texas Panhandle that we drove through in the morning consisted of lots of flat fields as far as the eye could see. Some were planted. Some were not. Some had cattle, others had massive wind turbines. Some had a combination. Mid-morning we entered Oklahoma. The drive wasn’t very exiting – lots of trees in-between areas of civilization. The sky slowly filled with puffy clouds as the day went on and the temperature got up to 64 degrees. We arrived at the KOA Journey RV Park in Joplin, MO, about 3:00 and settled in for the rest of the day. It was a nice “rustic” park with gravel sites and roads, lots of trees just starting to green up, a large fishing pond (supposedly stocked with catfish and perch), and a smaller duck and turtle pond. Laurie got calls and emails from family members to wish him a Happy Birthday. Mom had made a meatloaf before the trip to which we added mashed potatoes and corn for a delicious dinner. After dinner we sat and chatted until bedtime about 9:00.
April 11, 2021
We kept up our streak and again managed to get started just after 7:00 on this sunny morning. Today’s drive was through Missouri and into Illinois ending up in the Springfield area. Missouri was very green with lots of cattle along the way, as well as numerous billboards advertising various attractions from caverns to a huge candy store. Passing the St. Louis Gateway Arch was very cool. When the sun hit it right it was shiny to the point of looking like it was lit up. Upon entering Illinois the landscape quickly turned into miles and miles of farms. Some already appeared to have plants growing. We arrived at the Double J Campground in Chatham, IL (just before Springfield) at 2:45. This is another park that has a lot of trees and gravel sites and roads. There were some puddles around as rain had gone through prior to our arrival and the temperature was only 57 degrees. We relaxed and enjoyed the quiet and stillness of the non-moving RV until a dinner of leftovers – spaghetti, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn, and garlic bread.
April 12, 2021
A cold but sunny start to the day. Since we had a shorter drive today we didn’t leave until after 10:00. Our drive took us mainly past more farms putting us at Sycamore RV Resort about 1:45. With a little help from a park worker Laurie managed to back the RV into a tight spot in-between trees where we look east out over a small lake. We set up the RV, packed up all of Mom and Dad’s stuff (as well as Mom and Dad), and drove a little over an hour to arrive in Skokie. This was the first time they were home in over 16 months! Everything seems fine inside and out. The car even started after Dad hooked up the battery. Bette-Karen had done some work around the house including having a new toilet put in since the original one was leaking, and stocking up the fridge and freezer with a ton of homemade and store bought food. They spent some time getting settled in then we had a Lou Malnati’s pizza and salad delivered for dinner. About 7:00 we departed by taking side roads home – first including going by our first house in Hoffman Estates which we moved out of about 31 years old. It looked pretty much the same! After our return to the RV we both had odds and ends to do before turning in after another long day.
April 13, 2021
We left the RV about 9:30 for the 1 hour and 10 minute drive to Skokie. After a delicious brunch of bagels, lox, grapes, hard boiled eggs, and scones (courtesy of Bette-Karen) it was time to get to work trying to clean some stuff out of Mom and Dad’s house. Laurie and Dad worked on the rec room while Pat and Mom worked on the small bedroom. A lot of progress was made but there’s still a long way to go. Dinner was leftover pizza and salad along with shrimp and cocktail sauce. We called it a day just after 6:00 to get some rest to tackle the house emptying project some more tomorrow. On the drive back to the RV we dropped off 3 large bags of clothes at Goodwill so some stuff physically made its way out of the house. It was a fun, productive, tiring day.
April 14, 2021
After fortifying ourselves with another delicious brunch the cleaning continued. In the afternoon Bette-Karen came by so we took a break and spent the rest of the day visiting and catching up. We dined together on spaghetti (provided by Bette-Karen) and continued to visit after dinner. On our drive home we dropped off several more bags at Goodwill.
April 15, 2021
We ate breakfast on the RV this morning before making the drive to Skokie. Dad had a 10:00 eye doctor appointment in Costco and ordered new glasses while Mom and Pat shopped filling up a shopping cart. After a rest we kept up the cleaning progress finishing up the rec room, Bette-Karen’s room, and the boys’ room. It feels and looks good to have completed those areas. Costco provided dinner – a yummy street taco kit. Once again we dropped off more bags at Goodwill.
April 16, 2021
We left the RV about 6:00 am. Mom had an 8:00 dermatology appointment in Glenview, and both M&D had lab appointments. Mom has a small but painful skin lesion on the back of one hand which the doctor numbed and scraped off for a biopsy. Once the numbness wore off it was very painful for her but at least she’s on the road to knowing what it is and getting it taken care of. The cleaning continued with the Laurie and Dad tackling the foyer closet, and Pat and Mom the linen closet. More bags for Goodwill!
April 17-18, 2021
Beautiful sunrise looking out the front window at the lake view with geese and ducks gliding by. We accomplished more cleaning over the weekend making progress and now have more work behind us than remains. A guy Jerome recommended (Umberto) came by to give an estimate of carting away a lot of stuff from our cleaning endeavors. Mom served a yummy Greek chicken and potato dinner each night.
April 19, 2021
This morning we drove in to Skokie to pick up M&D to take them to doctor’s appointments in Glenview. All was well with both of them. Yeah! Afterwards we went to pay Mark a visit. He looked great and it was wonderful to chat with him – catching up and reminiscing. He has two cats named Lola and Jade who were very shy. After our visit we swung by Pequods’s Pizza in Morton Grove to pick up a frozen sausage pizza. (It ended up being just okay. Lou Malnati’s is better.) We took a leisurely drive back to the RV staying off the highways so we could see how our old stomping grounds had changed. We drove through Glenmoor, our old neighborhood in Algonquin to see the house where we lived in the 90’s. Things pretty much looked the same except the landscaping had grown. They never did build the road that was supposed to run past the back of our lot and it’s now a beautiful green space. Today was a “non-cleaning” day.
April 20, 2021
A very cold start to the day with the temperature near freezing. When we left the RV we could see tiny specs of snow in the air if we looked close. Arriving in Skokie we spent time visiting with M&D before we all headed to the First American Bank to take care of some business. This included updating their safety deposit box as well as having their will and health directive documents signed and witnessed. Back at the house we visited some more before deciding to get an estimate from 1-800-GotJunk to compare with Jerome’s guy. After finding out the high estimate price from Jerome compared with “Got Junk”, and some negotiating by Laurie, it was decided to go with Got Junk and they could do the job right away. About 3 hours later everything was cleared out of various rooms and it looked wonderful! Mom made a nice salmon dinner before we hit the road a little later than usual to head back to the RV. A very productive day!
April 21, 2021
Another cold start with the temperature in the mid to upper 30’s. We had another productive day at M&D’s finishing up the rec room and kitchen, still leaving some time for visiting and enjoying a delicious, hodge-podge dinner together. We got to meet M&D’s neighbor Amanda who was very nice. During the afternoon we actually had some off and on snow flurries! We got back to the RV a little bit earlier than usual and spent time finding an RV park near Bryce/Zion for our return road trip.
April 22, 2021
Not quite as cold this morning and it got warmer as the sun rose higher in the sky. We are getting closer to the end of our cleaning project as we finished up M&D’s utility room and upstairs bathroom. Laurie also put in a new front doorbell and checked out their router. Dinner tonight was Portillo’s hot dogs along with Caesar’s salad and fries. It had been a very long time since we had a Chicago hot dog and it was wonderful! Before settling into the RV for the night we went for a short walk along the lake. There wasn’t much to see with no signs of life in the water near the shore. The sun was slipping behind the trees and it started to cool off fast so we headed in. Just about the time we were thinking of turning in, Robin made contact and asked if we wanted to Skype. We couldn’t turn down a chance to see Robin and Sijia and, of course, Evie! It was great to see them and Evie was adorable as usual. We can’t wait to see them in less than a month, especially since we will all be fully vaccinated.
April 23, 2021
A beautiful reddish sunrise this morning. After catching up on some things and relaxing a bit, we once again headed to Skokie. We didn’t do too much work today but at least accomplished a little bit. Mom made some yummy chili served over pasta which really hit the spot. It’s been a long time since we had Mexican food. After chatting for a little while we headed out as we had a grocery order to pick up at Walmart in Niles. Returning to the RV we repeated our morning of tending to a few things and relaxing.
April 24, 2021
A repeat of yesterday without the grocery pick up.
April 25, 2021
Happy Birthday Dad! It was a fun day of celebrating with Dad, Mom, Bette-Karen, Bill, and Jerome. So great to see everyone after so many years. Of course the day included an abundance of food. After appetizers of cheese and crackers we moved onto the main meal: Jerome’s sushi tray, Mom’s salad, Bill’s grilled sausage and veggies, and Pat’s mostaccioli – all accompanied by red wine. We had two rich, yummy desserts. Bette-Karen made a triple layered chocolate and pumpkin cheesecake covered in ganache, and Pat made a layered brownie/PB/Cool Whip/Reese’s dessert. There was a lot of good conversation along with the food.
April 26, 2021
The sunrise was very pretty again this morning: a colorful, cloud streaked sky over the wind-rippled, goose-dotted lake, and the greening up tree line on the far shore in between. We had another cleaning push at M&D’s with Dad and Laurie tackling the downstairs bathroom while Mom and Pat did Mom’s bedroom closet. The main area that remains in M&D’s bedroom/dresser but the closets appear done. There’s always fine-tuning that can be done. Laurie also replaced some closet light fixtures that had stopped working. We had leftovers from yesterday’s celebration which delicious once again.
April 27, 20021
A warm, partly sunny day with the temperature at 65 degrees by 9:00 am and mid 80’s by the afternoon. Today we stayed at the RV to get some things done and get organized for our return trip on Sunday. Some of Laurie’s chores included replacing the malfunctioning water pump as well as the outside faucet and sprayer. Pat cleaned the RV inside, did research/organizing for the trip, and caught up on some other odds and ends. We had the windows open today and got to hear a variety of birds tweeting as we did our work, with occasional geese honking. This was the first day since the end of January 2020 that we didn’t see Mom and Dad! It was bound to happen. Dinner was the other half of the Pequod’s Pizza we had in the freezer. In the evening we watched the movie “Blood Simple” which was an odd Coen Brothers movie which was okay.
April 28, 2021
Today was a laid back day. Laurie did a little work on M&D’s bedroom TV setup, but the rest of the afternoon we just hung out. M&D brought in some ribs from Portillo’s along with fries, onion rings, and Mom made a salad. A simple day.
April 29, 2021
Actual rain! We haven’t seen anything more than a few scattered drops since sometime during the early part of our stay in Yuma. It sounds nice on the RV roof, especially with the plunk of extra heavy raindrops that accumulate on the tree branches over the RV before descending onto the roof. It was another day of fine-tuning some of our prior cleaning. Leftover ribs, salad, and Mom’s potatoes made a delicious dinner. On the way home we picked up a last pre-trip Walmart order which should get us home as far as food goes except maybe for bread, milk, and, of course, ice cream.
April 30, 2021
An early start today as Mom had a 9:40 dermatologist appointment in Glenview to finish up the treatment for the back of her hand. Back at M&D’s we mostly sat around and visited with a little more cleaning up. Pat brought some frozen beans she had made in Yuma and made Sephardic rice and a salad to go with it. Part of today’s cleaning was going through documents, etc. that Dad had for shredding. It was a lot, about 18 pounds worth, so we brought it to FedEx for shredding on the way home. M&D are still working on their bedroom but make some progress each day but otherwise our work there is done.
May 1, 2021
A beautiful start to a very windy day. We went by Grease Monkey to get an oil change on the car in Sycamore before starting our drive. Along the beginning of our drive we go through lots of farmland where the farmers were busy getting their fields ready for planting. Some of the fields already were green with some crop we couldn’t identify. Arriving in Skokie we awaited the arrival of Adam who was taking a Lyft ride from Midway Airport. Before he made his entrance Bette-Karen and Bill came in. Once we were all together we had a wonderful visit followed up with Lou Malnati’s pizza and salad for dinner. The conversation continued after dinner before we said our goodbyes to Bette-Karen and Bill who were leaving. After a little more time spent with Adam it was time to head out. It was so nice that we were able to at least spend a few hours with him. Then the really hard part came – saying goodbye to M&D after 15 months together. ☹ It was a fun, memorable adventure together that we’ll think of often. It came about the way it did because of Covid 19, so something good came out of the virus for us. We love you Mom and Dad and would do it all over in a heartbeat! But, on to the next part of our journey . . .