From StarBand Satellite to Verizon Wireless

We have changed how we access the Internet in our lifestyle. From November 2004 until April 2009, we used StarBand Satellite Internet with a large satellite dish setup on a tripod outside the motorhome. This was cumbersome and time consuming to setup and took up a lot of our storage space while traveling. Our connection was slow, we had to make sure that we didn't have any trees in the way, and it was expensive costing us $150 a month for their fastest connection, 1 mb down and 256 kb up. Our equipment was old and obsolete and StarBand wanted to force us to upgrade our equipment for several hundred dollars. While Barb was in the hospital, I bought a Verizon Wireless aircard so she could get her email and play her online games. While in a Verizon network, our connection speed is much like DSL, while in their Extended Network it is like what we had with StarBand, slow but usable. I also bought a Digi Wi-Point 3G celluar wireless router for the motorhome. We now have our own Wi-Fi network of 3 computers on a celluar connection that works great. No more lugging around the bulky satellite equipment taking up valuable storage space then looking for a clearing to set it up, which in Wisconsin is hard to find at times. We even have an Internet connection while traveling down the road. And with the advancement of celluar, if we have a cell phone signal, we have broadband Internet to all our computers. We have the Verizon Wireless 5 GB data plan, which is basically unlimited, for $60 a month.

Side trip to Eaton, IN

This past Wednesday, I took John Winter's boat to his brother's house in Eaton, IN for storage. Eaton is 450 miles from Oconto on SR-3 between Muncie and Fort Wayne, IN. I returned to Oconto on Friday.

The Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall

The Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall will be coming to Marinette, WI from July 2-6.

The local newspaper has a nice write up about it.

http://ehextra.com/main.asp?SectionID=12&SubSectionID=35&ArticleID=5207

Barb and I went to the Wall in Washington, DC a few years ago on one of our trips up the east coast. It was a very moving experience, especially when I seen names of soldiers that I knew. I've never been to the Moving Wall but since it's only about 25 miles from where I an now, I'll visit it this time.

Oconto, WI

I left Kenosha at 5:30 this morning on my last leg of this trip to Oconto, WI. I stopped in Sheboygan and had breakfast with Frank Welti and arrive her around 11:30.

Change of plans

There was a change of plans as to where I was going to stop for the night. I'm now at the TA Travel Center in Antioch, IL, just outside of Kenosha, WI. Branden wanted to show me his boat. That was a mess to drive through coming up here. Branden got stuck in the wrong lane, the Express Lane, and there was a traffic accident in front of him. This will be much better anyway because I won't have the Chicago traffic to try to go through in the morning. Just 186 miles to go to get to Oconto, WI.

Greater Chicago

I planned on getting an early start this morning. Got up at 3AM, made coffee and breakfast, checked out the motorhome got it ready to go, cranked up the engine at 4AM, NO HEADLIGHTS. I traced the problem to the dimmer switch. The dimmer switch was not making a good contact and overheated ruining the switch. Here it is 4AM on Sunday morning and I need a dimmer switch to make my headlights come on. I waited until sunrise at 5:30AM and headed 333 miles to my next stop. Greater Chicago I-55 Travel Center in Bolingbrook, IL. I'll be here until Monday morning and if I can find a dimmer switch, I'll try again to get an early start before the Chicago traffic starts. Only 251 miles to go to get to Oconto, WI.

Sullivan, MO

I left Oklahoma City around 7AM this morning enroute to Oconto, WI to work on our boat. After 8 hours driving, I stopped at a Flying J Travel Center in Sullivan, MO, just west of St Louis on I-44, for the night. I'll get an early start in the morning with my next stop in the Chicago area to visit with Branden deBuhr of www.BOASTY.org and Hot Media Group who is hosting our new web pages.

North to Wisconsin

I'll be leaving out tomorrow morning on my way to Oconto, Wisconsin. Barb still has a few followup medical appointments here in Oklahoma City so she'll stay with our daughter here and I'll drive the pickup back down here after the first of July to pick her up. We have to finish up the work that I contracted John Winter to do on our boat so we can get it moved before the end of July because he sold his property. I was supposed to be up there a month ago but because of Barb's hospital stay, we are behind. I have a stopover planned in the Chicago area on Sunday to visit with the guy who is hosting our new web pages.