UTICA, IL: Just Normal Living

There's nothing very exciting to write about....we're just enjoying life in the RV and going out to do errands such as shopping at Home Depot and Walmart as we leisurely work our way north to Gordon, Wisconsin.  The weather has mostly been either too hot or too wet for outdoor activity.

 On Saturday and again Monday, thunderstorms blew through the area with torrential rain and high winds.  More storms are in the forecast for the rest of our stay, but at least the temperatures are much cooler.  

Last night we walked to the Deer Ridge and Green Acres areas of the campground and were greeted by clearing skies and a beautiful sunset.  This part of the campground is surrounded by cornfields, which are about ready to be harvested.


Yesterday, we had a long phone call with an adviser from Aon Retiree Health Exchange (Aon Hewitt), the company that will be running AT&T's Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) that is replacing their traditional Health Benefit program beginning in 2015.  These calls are being made to each retiree to explain Medicare programs and how to use their site to shop from from over 90 plans and options.  This was basically an orientation to get us started looking at the mound of paperwork that is involved.  We will have another call for assistance with the actual enrollment in November or December.  Time will tell whether the plans will continue to be "benefits" or headaches.

This morning we had a phone consultation with our financial adviser.  We then took a tour of the area swinging through the outskirts of Ottawa on the way to Captains Cove Bar and Grill for waterfront dining at the Starved Rock Marina on the Illinois River, but we found they are closed on Tuesday's!  So we went to Delaney's Family Restaurant in Oglesby for a great buffet and met a soon-to-be fellow RVer from Marion, NC seated at an adjacent table.  After lunch we fueled up the car and went to a CVS in Peru before returning to the campground - all without a passport!