Your Departure has been Delayed
Sunday - 6/22
We woke up at 5:30 AM and finished pulling some of our stuff together. The Jewel does not open until 8 on Sunday, so she will have to shop at Dominick’s. This will take a little longer as she is not as used to the store. I finished packing all the clothes, cleaned up the kitchen, cleared up the yard and set the timer on the lights. We got the food all packed and stored. A quick shower and we are out on the road at 10:00 AM.
The GPS says we will arrive at Mitchell at 8:30 PM. That is with no delays and no stops. I know I will not be able to make up any time driving this big rig. It will just mean a late pull in.
I had been telling everyone that I would feel I am out and away as soon as I get past Milwaukee. That was not exactly the case, as the Interstate between Milwaukee and The Dells was closed to one lane in a few spots due to bridges being washed out. The water was still up to the girders on some of the bridges.
I drove while Wendy took care of the kids in the back. They are enjoying the space and watching movies and reading (Charlotte got through an entire book).
Our first stop was for gas at 5 hours out. I can tell that filling is going to be an issue. Pumps are now set to shut off at $75, so I have to fill, stop, fill, stop, and fill. I called the credit card company to ensure I did not set off any flags while traveling. We have had this happen where the card is denied because they think that multiple charges done quickly indicate a stolen card. They said that there is nothing they could do about the limits at the pump.
The day went quickly. The RV really is not that tough to drive, especially once you get out of traffic. You do need to keep both hands on the wheel. It tends to pull whenever a car passes or you hit a gust of wind. Interesting that even a small sports car can break the wind drag and throw the RV from left to right.
Jackson sat up front with me for a couple hours and we listened to music. I pulled all my mp3’s off my server and put them on a removable drive. He was going through and finding songs he thought both of us would like. Fall Out Boy took up the better part of 2 hours. Wendy had some troubles with the DVD player in the back (got a DVD stuck inside). I made some adjustments to some setups on Saturday when we got in. Hopefully all equipment will be clicking along within a day or two.
I tried to get the kids to check out some of the surroundings. A quick look out the window as we went over the Mississippi. A shout out as we passed some really big wind turbines. Charlotte wanted to stop at the World’s Largest Bull’s Head. We could see it on the top of the hill (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/4427). I told her she would just have to write about it in her journal and hit it next time through.
After all, that is why I picked Mitchell as our first stop. I have driven past the Corn Palace twice in my life, but have not been able to stop. This trip I am finally going to get to see it. I know it’s cheesy, I know most would laugh. But these are the types of things I remembered seeing when we would do our family vacations as I was growing up.
We pulled into the campground around 9:30. The owner drove us to our spot, I hooked up and we all got settled in. No cable at this KOA, Wendy had wanted to just cool out and watch the end of the Cross-town Classic. The kids wanted to go outside to run around, but the mosquitoes are out there in swarms. We are struck inside for the evening. Wendy sat down on the coach and said “Wee, so this is how we start our first night of sabbatical". Not that I mind. It was a long day of driving; I have some stuff to put away, a DVD player to fix and just want to hit the sack.
639 miles of our 3,539 is done. We are back on schedule and can now take a little slower pace as we move on down the road….
We woke up at 5:30 AM and finished pulling some of our stuff together. The Jewel does not open until 8 on Sunday, so she will have to shop at Dominick’s. This will take a little longer as she is not as used to the store. I finished packing all the clothes, cleaned up the kitchen, cleared up the yard and set the timer on the lights. We got the food all packed and stored. A quick shower and we are out on the road at 10:00 AM.
The GPS says we will arrive at Mitchell at 8:30 PM. That is with no delays and no stops. I know I will not be able to make up any time driving this big rig. It will just mean a late pull in.
I had been telling everyone that I would feel I am out and away as soon as I get past Milwaukee. That was not exactly the case, as the Interstate between Milwaukee and The Dells was closed to one lane in a few spots due to bridges being washed out. The water was still up to the girders on some of the bridges.
I drove while Wendy took care of the kids in the back. They are enjoying the space and watching movies and reading (Charlotte got through an entire book).
Our first stop was for gas at 5 hours out. I can tell that filling is going to be an issue. Pumps are now set to shut off at $75, so I have to fill, stop, fill, stop, and fill. I called the credit card company to ensure I did not set off any flags while traveling. We have had this happen where the card is denied because they think that multiple charges done quickly indicate a stolen card. They said that there is nothing they could do about the limits at the pump.
The day went quickly. The RV really is not that tough to drive, especially once you get out of traffic. You do need to keep both hands on the wheel. It tends to pull whenever a car passes or you hit a gust of wind. Interesting that even a small sports car can break the wind drag and throw the RV from left to right.
Jackson sat up front with me for a couple hours and we listened to music. I pulled all my mp3’s off my server and put them on a removable drive. He was going through and finding songs he thought both of us would like. Fall Out Boy took up the better part of 2 hours. Wendy had some troubles with the DVD player in the back (got a DVD stuck inside). I made some adjustments to some setups on Saturday when we got in. Hopefully all equipment will be clicking along within a day or two.
I tried to get the kids to check out some of the surroundings. A quick look out the window as we went over the Mississippi. A shout out as we passed some really big wind turbines. Charlotte wanted to stop at the World’s Largest Bull’s Head. We could see it on the top of the hill (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/4427). I told her she would just have to write about it in her journal and hit it next time through.
After all, that is why I picked Mitchell as our first stop. I have driven past the Corn Palace twice in my life, but have not been able to stop. This trip I am finally going to get to see it. I know it’s cheesy, I know most would laugh. But these are the types of things I remembered seeing when we would do our family vacations as I was growing up.
We pulled into the campground around 9:30. The owner drove us to our spot, I hooked up and we all got settled in. No cable at this KOA, Wendy had wanted to just cool out and watch the end of the Cross-town Classic. The kids wanted to go outside to run around, but the mosquitoes are out there in swarms. We are struck inside for the evening. Wendy sat down on the coach and said “Wee, so this is how we start our first night of sabbatical". Not that I mind. It was a long day of driving; I have some stuff to put away, a DVD player to fix and just want to hit the sack.
639 miles of our 3,539 is done. We are back on schedule and can now take a little slower pace as we move on down the road….