The Great Western Road Trip 2017.....Part Thirty Two/Day Twenty Three & Twenty Four

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Sixteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seventeen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Eighteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nineteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Twenty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Thirty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Heading out from Northern IL, we headed South......

57 miles until Peru, IL.

A crop dusting plane or something of similar size.  There are farms down here so I figured a crop duster.

The Paw Paw Exit.  I love these unusual place names.....

We stopped to see some old friends at our usual meeting place, Cindy's Home Cooking in

Oglesby, IL.

I always get Walleye here, this time in a sandwich. Nom Nom

Me with the "Chef".  Man was I fat! lolz

A group photo of me, Hubs and Robin and Pam.

After lunch with them we headed to see Hubs' sister.  She needed a bit of help so we took her shopping to Walmart to pick up some needed food and toiletries stuff.  I think we took her out to eat that evening too.

We stayed at a hotel in her town that evening.

I loved this sign in the bathroom, letting you know the prices of items if you "took" them home with you.

Yeah, I don't think I could fit an Ironing Board in my suitcase if I tried. lolz  Geez, I could get most of this new in a store for less.......

The next morning we headed out through Indiana, toward Ohio.

The back of a truck seen along the highway......

"a free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, 

but they should have sufficient arms & ammunition

to maintain a status of independence from any who

might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government"

                                                           -George Washington

                                     

Welcome to Indiana

Heading toward Indianapolis and Interstate 70.

Notice that Indiana is NOT very welcoming.....their Welcome Center is closed.

A cute little trailer like one of those teardrop shaped travel trainers.....

Stopped for gas and I browsed the convenience store to stretch my legs.......

This one made me chuckle, because it was in the North! lolz

Back on the road........

And we are out of Indiana......

This billboard tells me we are in Ohio. lol

Skyline Chili anyone??

Mt. Orab.  Anybody know where this is?

Entering Amish territory in OH.

And HOG territory too....lolz

Hubs wanted to stop here for awhile at the Serpent Mound earthen works in Peebles, OH.

                                           

This mound is the largest known serpent shaped effigy in the world.  The mound was built most probably by the Hopewell and/or the Adena prehistoric cultures and radiocarbon dating suggests it's at least 2000 years old.

Hubs with the Ohio state marker at the site.

There was an informative museum there as well and you could learn about these prehistoric cultures and how and why they built earthen mounds.

The fascinating thing about this earthen mound(besides the shape)is that there is a triple coiled tale on the end.

Learning about the living arrangements of these prehistoric tribes....

A painting of a tribal ceremony.  That's me pretending to participate.  I do have a bit of Native American blood afterall.

A comparison of famous monuments.

A couple of examples of clay pottery found in the area, one is a whistle or flute of some kind.

A chart showing the Daily Life of the Ohio Hopewell...

More clay items found in the area that were made by these ancient peoples....

So after the museum we hit the trail to the Serpent......

A stone monument about the Serpent Mound.  Might I add that it was late August and hot as F**k outdoors.....

There was a viewing tower(think fire tower out West)and Hubs climbed it to get an areal look at the whole mound.  He also took my photo.  With my bad knee I was not about to attempt that climb(and descent).

Here's one of the photos he took.  Pictures really don't do it justice.

I think this sign was where you could view sunset during the Summer Solstice at the mound.

I felt ambitious so I took off along the paved loop around the mound.

Hubs caught up with me near the tail.  You can sort of make out the triple coil of the snake's tail behind him.

And me again, next to the stone monument after walking all the way around the mound.....and melting in the heat like the Wicked Witch of the West. lolz

There were little signs all around the area, next to other mounds reminding you that these were sacred areas to long gone indigenous peoples.

We finished our trip to the Serpent Mound and heading toward the motel we stayed at that night.

                                        
I may be juvenile but I had to snicker at the name of this creek we drove over. ;-)

Made to the motel out in the middle of nowhere aka the Southern tip of Ohio.

Our last two days of the trip coming up next.  

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the May 17th Edition

There are a few Frugal wins over the past week.

*  Had my first "real" PT session(which costs me no copay).  She worked me over good. lol  I hope this helps my shoulders but after last night's sleep, I am not optimistic. 8-(

*  Went to Aldi last Friday and bought some sauces, hummus, frozen veggies, carrots, spaetzle for Hubs(way over priced I might add), a bag of General Tso Chicken, pickles for me and found a large pack of BSCB for 50% off.

Then we hit the tiny Kroger near there and bought this.......

The cereals are bound for the food bank(and not counted in my food budget).  The sauces and mustard are part of the Mega Sale(buy 5 to get the discounted price)and the Veggie Craft Pasta were a deal(on sale $3.29 with $1.50 each in KCB and $1.50 back from Ibotta so .29¢ each in the end).  I had a FREE Kroger buns coupon and tried to use that but got charged $1.99 for them.

So after PT on Tuesday we were near the old and dirty Kroger so I took them back and got $1.99+tax back for them.

Then I bought 3 discounted individual salads, a carton of milk(that had an Ibotta rebate),  some marked down thin steak for steak sandwiches and these sauces(4 from the clearance bins).......

Here are the backs of them...........

The Kinder Teriyaki were on Mega Sale for $1.99 each, the other Kinder Sauce(the burger sauce)was marked down to $1.49 and also part of the Mega Sale so another $1 came off making it .49¢ and the 3 Bachan Japanese BBQ sauces were marked down to $3.82 and another $1 came off each, making them $2.82 each.  These 3 sauces also had Ibotta rebates of $1.50 each so in the end those cost $1.32 each.  Not bad when you know those cost $8.99 reg. retail at Kroger(and $7.99 at Walmart)!

I also picked up another round of RockStar drinks.......

I had a Kroger digital Q for Buy a Rock Star and get a Rock Star Focus free plus these were on sale for $2 each, so both cost me $2.00 OOP.  I submitted to Aisle for a $5 rebate making this a $3 moneymaker.  Plus these are going to the food bank as I don't drink energy drinks.

If you want to get in on this Aisle Rock Star deal which runs all year(you can do it every other week)please use my link......

discover.gotoaisle.com/referral/kq98hepHXk

That way I get to do this deal twice every other week and then you can refer someone else to do the deal after you do it.  If you shop at Walmart Rock Stars cost $1.88 each and at Dollar Tree they are $1.25(they are smaller cans though)each so either way they are moneymakers and if Kroger is running a special they are moneymakers there too.  Please and thank you. 8-)

So while in Kroger I tried unclipping that FREE BUNS offer and then reclipping it to see if that would kick it in the butt and make it work but nope.  That coupon is a dude it seems.(I have the same issue with Kroger's Cesar dog food Qs-they never come off.)

*  I hit up Walmart for this on Wednesday after my car got fixed, as I was already near there.....

I had a $10 Ibotta rebate and a $10 Shopmium digital coupon so it was a $2.02 moneymaker.  I also found some marked down bags of produce, a pack of bacon and a pack of sausages as well as a marked down individual salad.

*  I noticed that none of my KCB offers I did have been applied to my account(since the beginning of April!)so I called to get clarification on a few things.

It's difficult to keep track of KCB since as soon as you use/apply an offer and purchase the item, the offer disappears from your available account and it doesn't show anywhere as pending.  Going forward I'll track what offers I use and when so I can contact CS if they don't show up after 1 week.

The person I spoke to put a courtesy $10 on my Kroger card the first time I called about this issue  but I'll be darned if I won't be calling back on Friday(which will be a week since purchase)to get the $6 in KCB for those crackers bought last Friday. ;-)  I now have a spreadsheet for KCB offers, when I purchase those items and what date and how much I am owed back.

Beginning of the week I called about the $6 in crackers and they put $15 store credit on my account, then I called again on Thursday after $5 for an item purchased 9 days previous I was owed.  I asked that they please fix this or I'd be called every time an offer didn't work and I really didn't want to be having to do this so this CS person took more info and is escalating the issue upstairs(and didn't offer me store credit, which is fine, I just want this KCB to work properly and to get what I am owed!)  I hope I get a callback since tomorrow I will have to call yet again inquiring about $4 in KCB that was never applied to my account. lol

*  We have been using food here and eating all the leftovers.  No eating out so far this week.

*  Had my "medical safari" to the Dermatologist in MS on Monday.   I already showed the tiny bag of lotions she gave me for free.......

*  I found money!

I found a penny when we stopped at a Love's for gas and I went in to get a soda.  Found that penny on the floor at the register.

I found this penny at the Kroger the next day walking by a register and it was laying on the floor.

                                       

I went to Walmart on Wednesday for a freebie and to finish my Midweek Bonus(a whole dollar)and saw something peeking out from under a drink cooler next to my self-checkout.  So I used a paperclip to edge it out and voila! I got a nickel!

Total Found last week.... .07¢ 

Grand Total Found this Year.......$4.48 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.  

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy     

Life Lately

Last Friday I attempted to go spend money at Dollar General as they were having one of there Clearance Events were all the discounted goods were 50% off of the discounted price.  I see all these folks on Youtube posting about all the wonderful things they get at DG for dirt cheap but unfortunately that doesn't happen in these parts.  The DGs I have here either have like one folding table of goods up front and the prices even at 50% off are nothing to write home about or, if a particular store(yes, I am calling out the DG #7733 Dixie Blanchard!)has good stuff, the employees hide it all in the back and they come in when they aren't on the clock and buy it all.  Last year during one of these Clearance Events I witnessed an employee buy TWO CARTS FULL of breakfast cereals and cookies that were marked down and then discounted and these carts came wheeling right out of a backroom or breakroom and were never on the sales floor.  This has turned me off of even going to DG anymore around here, unless I am getting a discounted gift card deal.

So on Sunday I had to go up to Walmart.  I parked in a handicapped spot, using my hangtag.

I came back out and some jackass had parked next to me, in another handicapped spot but look at how close they parked to me........

This big ass pickup truck was parked on the line and their front wheels were over their spot.  Let it be known that their parking spot had a crosshatching space on the driver's side as well so they could have parked further away from my little car.

As it was I could not open my driver's side door 12 inches and even with all my weight loss I couldn't have possible squeezed into my car. @$%$%&%$$#@$Q#W$#%Y

So I had to get into my tiny car on the front passenger's side then remove my shoe and get my ass into the driver's side seat and drag my right leg over the console and into the space where the pedals were located.  This took quite the effort and jacked my back up to boot(already having issues with a lower back muscle didn't help things).  My back muscle is still out of whack over this.

Here's the license plate of the truck belonging to this jackass.  Blog shaming should be a thing, right?

Someone may or may not have keyed their truck with the wording "Asshole".  I'm just saying.

Not that it would matter since this truck was already dented and ding and beat to shit.

I spent that evening laying in bed and taking a muscle relaxer and ice trying to get my back muscles to stop yelling at me.  I should have beat that truck with my cane until my cane disinegrated....it would have been worth the price of a new cane. lol

On Monday I had a dermatologist appointment in Mississippi.  We had a forecast of thunderstorms for Monday so Hubs didn't want me going that far by myself, plus when I got in mu car on Sunday to go to Walmart, my check engine light went on, so another reason he felt it best not to drive myself 3.5 hours away into another state(plus I can't drive his car due to my shortness.). Not having anyone to watch our dogs(since my lovely daughter can't be bother to watch them or even talk to us, and it's a 7 hour drive, not counting the time the actual appointment takes)we had to bring them along in the car.  I had to sit in the backseat with one of the dogs to keep her calm and that backseat was hell on my back, as Hub's car hit every danged pothole in two states.  Even with taking the medicine I had for my back issues it was not a fun 7 hour ride for said back.

The dogs are great travelers and there was a man-made lake and a greenbelt across from the dr. office so Hubs and puppies happily walked, sniffed and peed on stuff(well, Hubs didn't do anything but walk lol).

Luckily my Dermatologist after discussing a possible medicine change which we decided on not pursuing, she wants me back in 6 months instead of 3 months, as I told her traveling that far ever 3 months was a bit of a hardship for us and she agreed.  My HS is stable at the moment so there is that(good news)and still in remission.  She gave me this little bag of goodies..........

Not that these have anything to do with my medical condition but I guess she feels bad I drive so far to see her so I get a consolation prize of tubes of facial cleansers, etc. 

I saw this sign on the back of the door while waiting on her..........

The mole check sign below makes sense for a dr. practicing medical dermatology but the one above touting "Botox Days" coming up was kind of out of place in my mind.  They have a separate office downstairs that deals with the Cosmetic Dermatology issues(what I call the Vanity Dermatology)and would fit right in, in that office.  All I can think is the department at the University Hospital is is affiliated with makes her drum up business for the Cosmetic Derm office.

Tuesday was "another day", as Scarlett said in that movie, and I had my first PT appointment for my impinged shoulders in the afternoon.  My intake was last week and I was given and had been doing the 3 shoulder exercises the therapist had given me to do as homework.  I didn't do them on Monday(needless to say as I was in a car all day)but I did do them all the other days.

So I had the in person therapy session on Tuesday but it was scheduled for late afternoon and by the time we were done my shoulders and arms were tired as all get out.  I think all my other sessions are scheduled for morning which will be much better for me.

After PT we hit the crappy Kroger as it was the last day of the current sale and I wanted to pick up some items.  I got some great deals, clearance items that also were part of the Mega Sales Event, which I'll talk about on Friday.

Speaking of Kroger, is anyone else having issues with Kroger Cash Back being credited to their accounts??  I am having a devil of a time getting it to work.  It started in earnest back in March and my balance sat at $31.20 forever.  We went away and when we returned nothing had still been added even though I had bought items before we left that should have been added to that balance.  The problem with KCB is that as soon as you use an offer it disappears from your account and there is nowhere to see that it's pending(I have asked Corporate about that and no)so what you need to do to keep track of KCB you are missing is to keep a spreadsheet of some sort of the date you used the offer, what it was for and how much you are missing.  I did get an answer that KCB "should" credit in 7 days to your account.  So today will be the third time I call Corporate and complain about an offer that has not been credited to my KCB.  And this stuff adds up!  Today's missing KCB will make over $21 they have not credited to my account.  What a PITA!

Wednesday was a lay on sort of day.  Hubs is waiting for the dealer to come pick up his lawn tractor so they can tune it up(suppose to come today....but knowing how things work/don't work around here, I am spectical).  I called Kim and Sissie as I knew they were moving Sissie out and wanted to how A-if Sissie had killed Kim and buried her in the backyard and B-how it was all going as they have been out of communication with me since last Friday.

I went up to Walmart on Wednesday to get Hubs colonoscopy prep(oh, the good times just keep on coming-at least for him!lol)and pick up a freebie or two(more on that Friday).

Later on Wednesday I had a phone call from my wonderful NP, my first PCP down here.  Seems even though all the folks and state governing boards I wrote that complaint letter about the rural health clinic we were first attending with the horrible and lack of medical protocols didn't get me any satisfaction, it got some people investigating what was going on there and now the wheels of justice are rolling, albeit slowly.  Unfortunately this PCP who has since left that health clinic is being thrown under the bus and having to defend herself legally with the licensing board(because it's easier to blame someone who is no longer working there than to own up to shaky practices by the people in charge of the corporate entity)so I am keeping in touch with her in case we get drug into this morass or she needs us to testify in her defense.  What a mess!!!

Today I'll be babying my back still, maybe making a run to Kroger, except I like to go on Fridays for 4 x Fuel points but I have a PT at noon on Friday and it might wipe me out and the Kroger I prefer is on the other side of the river in the next town over from where PT is.  I just have to decide what to do.  I don't have much on my shopping list so might wait until Friday plus Hubs will be with me Friday so he can help me get stuff on high shelves(which hurts my shoulders when I try to do that).

We'll have some hot(in the mid to high 80's)days but it's been uncharacteristically not humid here so we've had some days without a/c and open car windows when we are out.

I noticed a tiny bird's next perched on the steel beam on our car port when we returned from our cruise.

And a week later I got a shot(albeit not great)of mama bird sitting on that tiny next.  No eggs have hatched yet but she's still up there.

A week after we got back from Europe I noticed that the cactus was blooming.

Evidently the wife of the couple who owned this place was originally from Texas and she brought a cactus here with her and planted it.

I don't think it bloomed last year but I could be wrong, as it is a ways out from the house and I wasn't very mobile last Spring/Summer with my knee and the "yard" is not a "yard" and full of dips and holes so I didn't notice it.

But it was in full bloom this Spring.......

Does anyone know what kind/variety of cactus this is?  I am clueless.  The only succulent I know is Jade plant.

I do need to trim back that bush of unknown origin back that is taking over the cactus's space too.

That's all I got today.  I am off to call Kroger(again). ugh  And then fill out medical record transfer forms(more on that another day).

What are y'all up to today?

Sluggy