13 May 2025 - Lunch with Classmates Ken & Kyle Jackson; Linear Actuator Installation

 

This morning we drove about 50 miles west back to the Rock Island IL area to have lunch with a couple classmates of mine from DeWitt, Ken Jackson and his spouse Kyle (Paarman) Jackson.  I lived in DeWitt starting in 1960 when my dad was promoted to Lieutenant in the Iowa Highway Patrol. That same year I started Kindergarten and I think Kyle and I were in the Central Community school system together until 1970 when my dad was again promoted, this time to Captain and we moved to Cedar Falls where I met Doreen.  Ken moved into our neighborhood in 1969 as I explained last night and we shared a lot of similar interests so we hit it off right away. 

We met at a decent dog-friendly restaurant called the Riverfront Grille, located right on Rock River that flows into the Mississippi.  They have outside seating and Liberty was very content as we reminisced and got caught up with what our families have been doing.  

The Rock River in the background

Liberty chilling 

Ken and Kyle both retired from the Rock Island Arsenal and live near DeWitt, about 30 miles from the restaurant.  Because we brought Liberty we were able to take our time and not rush back to the campground.  We had a lot of laughs and both agreed we needed to get together more frequently.  

Kyle and Ken Jackson

On the way back to the campground there was some weather that moved through and we instantly thought of (almost) 12 year old grandson Calvin who would have been able to give us all kinds of information on this, what appears to be a "rain shaft".  

Back at the campground I started in on my next project which was adding linear actuators to our RV bed.  The mattress and plywood are quite heavy and difficult for Doreen to lift and also a stressor on my recently repaired left rotator cuff!  Linear actuators are powered devices that raise and lower something, in this case the hinged base of our bed revealing storage underneath.  This linear actuator kit comes complete with an AC power supply, an RF receiver, and RF key fob transmitter and a wye-cable that ties both linear actuators together so they raise and lower in sequence.  

So we got that all done, cleaned up, tools stowed, etc and it is working fine.  That has been on my list for a couple years.

That is it for today,  Tomorrow we plan to explore the local area here,  Doreen found Ronald Reagan's home nearby.  The lady that checked us in here suggested exploring downtown Princeton IL.  We will see what happens.  We also need to do our pre-departure stuff such as fueling the truck since tomorrow (Wednesday) is our last day here.  Thursday we move on to the Caboose Lake Campground near Remington IN.