Travel Days, Coming Back East

Travel Days - Coming Back to the East

April 7-10, 2005

It is actually taking us several days to come back, partly because of high winds in Kansas and partly because you can not really go much over 70 mph in the truck with a camper. It might also be because we keep stopping at Flying Js to gas up, get food, and the last couple days, sleep.

On April 7th we were raring to go home, thinking it would take three days to get back since we had to go to Five Star RV Center first, and get the checkup and get some other questions answered about the camper. We ran into high winds in eastern Colorado and Kansas, and only made it as far as Hayes, Kansas because of those winds. We stayed in a Wal-Mart and for the first time, took showers in the camper. The showers were heavenly, and we went to bed refreshed even though we were unhappy about the slow process.

On April 8th, we got up slowly, made breakfast, and got on the road around 11 am. I know, what slowpokes, getting up so late and not getting on the road until that time. But again, we hit major winds, and smokey skies. It seems Kansas farmers burn their lands to keep them fertile, but the smell is horrible for those not used to it. Stopped at Salina, Kansas, which is just up the road a piece, and went to a Flying J to upload the rest of the pictures and work on the website. The real reason we did that was because the winds were highest during the day, and we waited until evening to drive. But we had a loooong lunch and surfed and read until 6 pm, when the dinner crowd was coming in. We then got on the road and stopped at a Flying J west of St. Louis. They were packed (Friday night and all) but we managed to squeeze in and get a spot.

On April 9th, we again did not get up until 9 am and got on the road around 12 noon. This time there was no wind, and we stopped in St Louis to see the Arch. The city was not much to look at but maybe we came in from the wrong side or something, but it was dirty and downtrodden were we saw it. We did not even get up fully to the Arch but took pictures on the way. We thought that where we were parked, someone might break in and steal or that they would tow away the truck. We got back on the road, this time going on Interstate 64 and the signs, well, they were not very good.

Meanwhile, my cell phone had stopped service; it kept saying No Service. This had started in Kansas City and we thought that maybe Cingular was not in that area, but when I looked at my phone today, in St Louis and it was not working, let's just say that I was frustrated. So I called them up, (because Sasha's phone was working as well at the internet) and got disconnected 3 times before I finally got someone who told me that my phone was too old to work on - but they tried to ping it several times to get the service back. The last time we got disconnected, I looked at my phone and the service was back on. It states that it is on ROAM, but it works and I can get messages, but it looks like I will be getting a new phone in a couple of days. I have had that phone about 5 years, having gotten a new phone about 2 years ago, and then it petered out within a couple of months. So I switched back to the old phone - but I guess it is time to change. You would think as a technology person, this would not be a problem, but I like to stick to what I got, for as long as possible.

So here we are, back at a Flying J again, this time in Haubstadt, Indiana (just over the border into Indiana, where Sasha emptied the black tank, the gray tank and filled us back up with clean water. He filled up the tires with air (he said that that part went very fast - was able to get 120 psi like we are supposed to have) and we had taken snoozes and ate. I worked on the website and Sasha read his book. I will be driving the camper for the first time this evening. We will let you all know tomorrow if we have crashed.

April 10th - well, we did not crash, but I drove until my eyelids were droopy, around 1 am. Again we stayed at a Flying J, this time in Ashland, Kentucky. We stayed here overnight and had breakfast the next morning. We had taken showers the night before, it is so nice to wash the grit off of you face in your own bathroom. We will be coming home today as we both are working tomorrow. With high speed internet access, these flying Js are great. I can check my email, work on the website and download everything.

Hope you all have enjoyed the log and we'll be back soon to update the rest. But I am hungry now and we have to go soon, we'd like to get home before nightfall. (Well, that did not happen, we got back around 8 pm, with some time to unpack and watch a show before going to bed.) Oh, well.