The Pitts Stop

New Jersey to Iowa

August 4, Thursday: New Jersey Westward

We drove secondary roads through Pennsylvania and Ohio with a stop in Cleveland to tour the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Jack actually parallel parked the RV in downtown Cleveland! The museum was okay – lots of “stuff” like guitars and costumes. I suppose I’m prejudiced, but there didn’t seem to be enough emphasis on 50s and 60s rock’n’roll.

We also stopped in an Amish area of Indiana and visited the Menno-Hof cultural center in Shipshewana to learn about the origins of the Amish and Mennonite religions and people. Interesting history and the cultural center had really impressive multimedia exhibits.

August 6, Saturday: Illinois to Iowa

We overnighted in Geneseo, Illinois, then on to Des Moines to spend the weekend with Jack’s brother and his family. Bill’s wife, Linda, took us on a grand tour of the Iowa State Fairgrounds a week before the largest fair in the country was to open.

August 8, Monday: Des Moines to Forest City, Iowa

We left Des Moines mid-morning and took side roads up to Forest City. We made an appointment for Winnebago to repair a broken latch on the dump compartment, the squealing hot water heater and the steps that wouldn’t retract when the engine started. We mentioned that the indicator lights for water, etc., differed when on shore power versus battery and they found that the bottom half of the converter was bad and was spiking. They indicated that if left like that, it would slowly cause electrical problems for all the appliances. The RV was all ready by 3 that afternoon and it was great to have everything working correctly.

August 10, Wednesday: Forest City, IA to St. Paul, MN

Leaving Forest City, we meandered north on secondary roads and got our campsite in St. Paul's suburb of Woodbury, just a mile from our friends' home who spend the winters in South Carolina.

August 11, Thursday: St Paul, MN

While Jack and Carl golfed, Norma and I went to see the just-released movie, The Help. We had read the book for Book Club, and I had really liked the book, but Norma wasn’t too keen on it. Neither of us had very high expectations for the movie, but we were pleasantly surprised with how good the movie was – both of us needed tissues as we left the theater. In the evening, Carl and Norma gave us a nice tour of the historic estate section of St. Paul on our way to dinner.