11/16/09

After a series of disasters, we finally left on Friday the 13th ....hmm. Prior to that we had: made too sharp a turn on Government Hills Drive, causing one wheel to drop into the ditch, a small dent in a lower compartment, a sprung door on another compartment and a crack in the windshield! Guess what that cost? Fortunately, we have Good Sam RV insurance which will cover most of it. We also accidentally took out the TV antenna with a low hanging branch...oops, that's why they sell those little signs which remind you to lower it before you drive. Let's see, then we hit a huge pothole in Minnesota with our tow car - which damaged the oil pan. The RV awning was giving us fits so we had that replaced the same day the tow car was fixed. When we went to leave the RV repair center, we encountered additional difficulties with the strapping mechanism for the tow car. Chuck took off the tie down ratchet and straighted everything out but when he went to put it back on, the special nut he had taken off was nowhere to be found. We searched and searched. Fortunately, the guys from the repair place saw us as they were leaving, and opened up the shop again to sell us another tie-down ratchet. By this time, we were exhausted and really looking forward to getting back on the road. Chuck proceeded to put the tow car up on the dolly but somehow - no doubt aided by the extra oil on the dolly from the broken oil pan - overshot the dolly with the result that the car was now hung up - suspended on top of the dolly. AAA time. Note to self: we need to buy a jack for the rig. We had decided that didn't want to risk any further damage from low-hanging branches so pulled into the year-round RV park located in Wisconsin State Fair. That's where we were when I found the missing nut in my pocket. :-P. We stayed there for several days while we continued to clean and move from Govt. Hill Drive. UGH. It was during this time that Chuck discovered a broken seal clamp for our gray water. He promised me that there could be no leakage during the repair......uh huh. Jessie and Lloyd helped lift our spirits one night by showing up with Jimmy Sundaes from Gilles.

On Friday, I went in for a cortisone injection in my spine while Chuck and Nate repacked the entire rig, trying for equal weight distribution and some semblance of order. Nicky snapped pictures as, on the brink of departure, we sought a few additional spaces for the remaining liquor. Then, as Ellie would say, we were off like a herd of turtles. Our first stop was at the Great Naval base, where we did a bit of food shopping including an extended visit to the package store. We had thought that we would park there but they didn't have any "pull-through" sites - only "back into" slots. Uh, uh, no, no - not for these newbies. So - we spent the night at the RVers' friend - Walmart. It's just amazing how you can be in the middle of a busy urban area and once you close all of the curtains, feel safe, secure and isolated in your own little mobile home...kick back, have a drink and watch TV. The next morning, it was back to the base to get military decals for the cars which will allow us access to military facilities.

On 11/14/09, we faced death as we drove through the heart of Chicago. At one point, a super-wide truck was inches - INCHES - away from the RV. Very, very scary but Chuck handled it all beautifully. We then entered the Indiana/Ohio toll roads. Yikes - $$$ for our 4 axle rate. Good thing we saved money at Walmart. We made our first "dump stop" at one of the stations that are provided at some of the rest stops...who ever noticed that before? Unfortunately, midway through this process we realized that the drain wasn't draining - requiring a hasty, no look back departure. What could we do? Back on the road, we confirmed a dinner meeting with the fabulous trace evidence expert who occasionally donates her talents to MUFON.

We had looked for RV parks to stay at but there was nothing close and the nearest Walmart did not allow overnight parking. Luckily, we were able to park at our expert's house. Not only did we save money again that night - she and her husband provided breakfast the next morning! Super people.

When we left, we decided to make it a short day and drove to southern Ohio. As one drives, you occasionally hear a thump or bump and realize that something wasn't secured properly. It might be a pen, is often the computer mouse or worse. I usually get up and look to see if I can see what happened. When the mirrored closet door jumped off the tracks because of the heavy laundry bag I stowed in there...I didn't have to look very far. Happily, it was unbroken. We heard another crack too though that I couldn't find the cause for....well, until I opened our liquor cabinet and found that the neck of the Cabo Wabo bottle had snapped right off. My mother definitely would have said to throw it out but Chuck ran it through one of my coffee filters and declared it safe....just saying in case we incur unusual internal injuries.