Peace On The Road
Finally
November 20, 2004
Wednesday Evening -- This has taken a lot longer than I had hoped it would. Our original plan was to be in Rochester by the 4th of November. But as you know that has not happened. It is now Wednesday, November 10, 2004, and we are not out of Colorado, but at least we are in Burlington. Half of Monday was taken up with the Vectra at the dealership getting adjustments and leaks fixed. We have found that the leak was not fixed. It is in one of the slide, but it doesn’t leak unless it rains. In working around the Vectra they ran a boat into one of the side compartment leaving a HUGE scratch. It can be fixed when I come back. The original scratches I wrote about are only smudge marks compared to this. Then half of Tuesday was taken up by getting a small trailer to tow behind the coach. There is so much stuff to be taken to Rochester. I was afraid that we were both running out of space and also we were carrying more weight than the chassis was rated to carry, thus the trailer.
This morning we loaded the final item in the coach or trailer, threw away the final trash and rolled out the driveway at 12:15. We are not pushing the speed so we only got to Burlington before it got real dark. We got into rain and some snow. We do not plan to drive in snow! Luckily it was only a few small flurries, never anything on the road or the windshield. Just before we got to Stratton a truck passed me. I hit the switch to wipe his spray off the windshield, the wipers made three quarters of a complete swipe and quit. At the moment I don’t know what the problem is. Erma did not know I had a problem or she would have stopped at Stratton. I was doing okay as long as too many trucks didn’t pass me and spray water on the windshield.
We pulled off I-70 at Burlington to a campground and parked. Right at the moment we have eaten, watched a DVD I was given as a retirement gift, and are comfortable for the night.
Friday Morning, after another day on the road. Yesterday was strange also, in several ways. A light on my dash kept saying, "Check the info center." The info center was set at a contrast that I could not read, unless I could get in exactly the right position, and it took me an hour to figure out how to get it so I could read it from the drivers seat. Before I could get in exactly the right position, the check sign would go away I still have no idea what it wanted me to know. Maybe it was telling me I was getting low on fuel. At least I filled up and have not seen the warning since.
We stopped at Hays, Kansas to get a bite to eat. We parked in the K-Mart parking lot next to a restaurant, left the cat in the Vectra and went to eat. When we got back the cat was gone. We looked in every nook and cranny we could think possible and decided that he had slipped out the door without us knowing it. We scoured the K-Mart lot and all the surrounding area to no avail. That took well over an hour. I went back to the Vectra; my mother in law had stayed in the coach and signaled that he was in the chair. He had hidden somewhere in the Vectra, but we still have no idea where he was. I figured that the next week would be spent in the K-Mart lot looking for a cat.
Finally
November 20, 2004
Wednesday Evening -- This has taken a lot longer than I had hoped it would. Our original plan was to be in Rochester by the 4th of November. But as you know that has not happened. It is now Wednesday, November 10, 2004, and we are not out of Colorado, but at least we are in Burlington. Half of Monday was taken up with the Vectra at the dealership getting adjustments and leaks fixed. We have found that the leak was not fixed. It is in one of the slide, but it doesn’t leak unless it rains. In working around the Vectra they ran a boat into one of the side compartment leaving a HUGE scratch. It can be fixed when I come back. The original scratches I wrote about are only smudge marks compared to this. Then half of Tuesday was taken up by getting a small trailer to tow behind the coach. There is so much stuff to be taken to Rochester. I was afraid that we were both running out of space and also we were carrying more weight than the chassis was rated to carry, thus the trailer.
This morning we loaded the final item in the coach or trailer, threw away the final trash and rolled out the driveway at 12:15. We are not pushing the speed so we only got to Burlington before it got real dark. We got into rain and some snow. We do not plan to drive in snow! Luckily it was only a few small flurries, never anything on the road or the windshield. Just before we got to Stratton a truck passed me. I hit the switch to wipe his spray off the windshield, the wipers made three quarters of a complete swipe and quit. At the moment I don’t know what the problem is. Erma did not know I had a problem or she would have stopped at Stratton. I was doing okay as long as too many trucks didn’t pass me and spray water on the windshield.
We pulled off I-70 at Burlington to a campground and parked. Right at the moment we have eaten, watched a DVD I was given as a retirement gift, and are comfortable for the night.
Friday Morning, after another day on the road. Yesterday was strange also, in several ways. A light on my dash kept saying, "Check the info center." The info center was set at a contrast that I could not read, unless I could get in exactly the right position, and it took me an hour to figure out how to get it so I could read it from the drivers seat. Before I could get in exactly the right position, the check sign would go away I still have no idea what it wanted me to know. Maybe it was telling me I was getting low on fuel. At least I filled up and have not seen the warning since.
We stopped at Hays, Kansas to get a bite to eat. We parked in the K-Mart parking lot next to a restaurant, left the cat in the Vectra and went to eat. When we got back the cat was gone. We looked in every nook and cranny we could think possible and decided that he had slipped out the door without us knowing it. We scoured the K-Mart lot and all the surrounding area to no avail. That took well over an hour. I went back to the Vectra; my mother in law had stayed in the coach and signaled that he was in the chair. He had hidden somewhere in the Vectra, but we still have no idea where he was. I figured that the next week would be spent in the K-Mart lot looking for a cat.
IN THE HAYS KANSAS WALMART PARKING LOT
Because the lights are very strange on the trailer we rented we do not want to drive after dark, so we spent the night in a Flying J truck stop in Salina. We hope to make more miles today. I don't mind being slow later but right now I need to make miles.
Flying J did have WiFi, but by the time I was able to get help getting attached it was getting too late for me to want to mess with learning things about my computer. Had I known last night that which I know today I could have been on the internet all night. Live and learn as time goes by.
Now this is Saturday evening and we are in Effingham, Illinois at another Flying J truck stop. Someone told me that I should not stay at Wal-Mart parking lots and so far I have not. We stopped a too short of a time in Baldwin, Kansas to see my sister. Then we stopped in Kansas City, MO to see a sister of my mother in law and the sisters children. Then it was back on the road late morning, and I do mean LATE morning.
One thing good came of the stop in Kansas City. One of my wife’s cousins tows a U-Haul trailer once in a while. He told me that I needed a wiring adapter for U-Haul towing. I have proper lights now, thanks to him loaning me his adapter.
Today I found out why the check info sign kept coming on. Whenever the fuel gets down to below 25% it comes on. The way I fixed it the other day, without knowing what I was doing, was simply by filling the tank. That is almost an experience in itself. I am getting 5.9 miles to the gallon and fuel has cost as much as $2.21. I will never complain about gas for my car again. I have seen, but did not buy, diesel fuel at $1.42. I wonder why I was not totally out at the time.
Sunday evening, Columbus, Ohio
Things are going well. Another Flying J truck stop. No matter how it is done it is a long way to Rochester, New York. We found the hiding place of the cat; in fact we found two places. I still do not know how he gets into one of the hiding place, but he knows. There are storage spaces under the bed that we have not filled yet, and he has found a way to get under the bed. He has also decided that the cat box is a good place to hide. That thrills me as much as itching powder in my pajamas.
Tuesday afternoon; WE ARE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We arrived in Rochester about 4:00 yesterday. The dune buggy is parked in my daughter’s driveway and shortly will belong to her. The trailer was unloaded and returned to a dealer. We spent the night in the Anchor Christian Church parking lot. Without all the baggage being towed behind and not having a destination the next day I felt like I was at home for the first time emotionally. Just a little bit of the home feeling but it was definitely a good feeling. One of the things I left Colorado to get away from was snow. Can you believe that we are parked for at least the next two weeks at the base of a ski slope? Yep, not more than fifty yards from us is a ski lift. It is all beginners’ slopes, but even that is more than I could handle. We have a nice view of a small valley out the windshield.
THE SKI SLOPE AT THE CAMPGROUND WHERE WE ARE STAYING
Till Later This Is Doug Of
PEACE ON THE ROAD
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