2 RV's to FL, 1 to Ocala, 1 to Fort Myers

... spending the night at O'Fallen MO

Breakfast, bacon instead of bacon/sausage patties. Juice was just water, but then I tried it again and it worked. Juice machine must have just been connected and not run or something.

We pull out a few minutes after 7 AM, it is still dark. Cold but no frost, yet.

1st stop is Forest City to pick up our RV's. We are there before 8 AM and people are already there and picking up. I think there were at least a dozen of us there at one time. Ours were easy to find, they were two of a very few big RV's. The rest are all class B / Sprinter sized.

I hadn't been looking over my RV long when I noticed a sound that shouldn't be there. It sounded like a shaver running, it would go off when I shut the RV off but come back on again when I re-started it. I went in and talked to the dispatcher about it, but there was a steady line of drivers coming and going so I had to go back in later. Again they said they would be right out, but there was someone behind me and it wasn't right out.

Dispatcher looked all over and finally suggested I take out a couple of screws while they call the shipper. I locate the problem when someone from the shipper arrives. Now we know the source of the problem, but not what to do. Then dispatch gets involved again, I get the OK to run as is. A little bit later I get the OK to take the piece apart if it starts buzzing again. It had stopped when we were looking at it.

All this took an extra half hour. BB also had a crack in her table top that turned out to be a crack in the protective coating that will be torn off at the delivery.

One of the other drivers mentions to a few people that Casey's is closed. I don't hear why but when we go past I see that it is dark inside.

2nd stop is the Pilot in Clear Lake for fuel. 40 gallons for each of us. A three cents discount makes a difference on that amount. I need to try to get my cards working again. Sometimes I just don't use one, this time we are both using BB's.

Wind. Helped my mileage getting to Clear Lake. Now we are heading south and mostly into the wind. This new equipment needs perfection. Maybe 10 miles down the road we loose our cruise, because the wind hits the radar sensors. So no cruise for the next 100 miles. Hold on with both hands and try to maintain a constant speed.

3rd stop is the Subway at Casey's in Center Point. Same as last week. Slower crew at Subway, we ate outside again.

This time I use the cruise going through Cedar Rapids, but kick it off once we hit the open road. Doesn't make a difference. The system errors and shuts the cruise off so I can't re-set it even though it was not on.

And even though the radar says it is not on, so the cruise can't work. When I cam up behind someone that was turning, the warning sounds and breaks came on. ???

4th stop is the Flying J in Wayland MO for fuel. Quick in and out. Winds seem to have died down a little.

Nope, I loose the cruise again after about 30 miles, 110 to go without cruise. Ended up loosing BB going through Hannibal but we have been this way enough that she knows where to go. I slowed and saw her once again coming through town but she hit another light and I didn't see her for a while. When I was driving slow so she would catch up, my mpg went up over 10. Most of the trip it has been 8 something.

Sun is setting. But we get to the motel just before it does.

Lots of room to park. My buzzer is back on so I go back and take it apart. Ahhh, quiet.

5th and final stop is the Comfort Inn in O'Fallon MO (not O'Fallon IL, we will go through that in about 40 miles) We check in and call for to-go food at the Mexican place two doors down. Good food, not quite as much too much. But no plastic wear, I go down and ask the front desk but they don't have any ... just about back to our room and I remember that I should have just gone out to the RV, I have weeks worth in my stuff. But now I am back up three flights of stairs and eat with a knife instead.

We plan out tomorrow, five stops for 500 miles. We have also looked at where we can stop if we don't make the 500 miles, and there ae lots of places to stop. IF we make the 500 tomorrow, then it is less than 500 miles on Monday to my drop. I'll drop Tuesday AM and then BB will drop four hours later ... somehow we will make it happen. It doesn't help that the airport is 30 miles out of route.

Load board

US - 143

IA - 30

MN - 2

WI - 2

NC - 5