Thursday, December 29, 2022

On the road again! Winter weather fails to derail

 (Note: I have no idea what is going on with the margins on this post. Sorry I'll try and get it fixed befoe I post again)

   On the road again! After 9 months of doing circles in my bus, van and trolley in Oakland County, Michigan the road warriors are back on the open road. And it feels so good.

  Now the beginning was a little interesting as a early winter storm blew in on Friday, December 23 just one day before our wheels up departure time of Christmas Eve. Weather forecasters made it sound like the storm of the century (which it clearly wasn’t) but it would have been dicey to leave on Friday.

   So with everything packed and sitting in our front hallway I braved the frigid temperatures on Friday to take down all the Christmas decorations in the house (it is kind of depressing to have to take down Christmas before Christmas Day, but it is what it is). I also pre-packed some of our stuff in the car so I would have less to do Saturday morning.

Interstate Inn key -old school

   We got up early Saturday, finished packing the car, secured the inside of the house and headed off for our first destination which was Louisville, Kentucky and Christmas with my sister, brother-in-law and father. When we left Michigan the temperature was 3 degrees and it didn’t get much better until we got near our destination in Louisville. The roads were in so-so condition but for anyone used to winter driving in Michigan – doable. We did run into an issue in Ohio when an accident near Dayton had I-75 closed for about 9 miles which meant a 45-minute detour. Traffic was slower than normal so the usual 6.5-hour trip ended up taking nearly 9 hours, but we arrived safe and sound.

We had a wonderful dinner and then settled in for a quiet Christmas Eve.

  On Christmas morning I picked up Dad at his senior living place and we returned for present opening and another dinner, this one prepared by Joan at my sister’s house. Joan wanted to make dinner because my sister Laura is always making us great meals when we are there and Joan wanted to return the favor.

   So leg two of our trip started on Monday morning when we left my sister’s house. It was a balmy 21 degrees so a little improved over the first travel leg. We made a quick stop at the nursing home where my stepmother Janet lives and then we were on our way again. Roads were slightly improved from the Saturday travel, but we did hit some snow squalls and slow traffic, but nothing a seasoned winter driver shouldn’t be able to handle.

  With the prospect of seeing our son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren for the first time in a while we were determined to make it to Murfreesboro, Tennessee for another Christmas celebration with more family. We had fun watching the grands open the presents we had sent (and brought with us) and then had a wonderful prime rib dinner with the family.

   The next day we were surprised (well, the children were) with a trip to a local movie theater to watch “Avatar.” The three-hour extravaganza kept us riveted (which means I didn’t fall asleep like I usually do in movies) and then we went to dinner at a nice restaurant called Bonefish. 

    Our two grandsons made us wonderful gifts – one was a balloon airplane and two Lego individuals that had some of our characteristics. We will treasure these gifts (well, at least as long as the balloon holds air). Way too soon it was time to depart for our ultimate destination – Tucson.

    Wednesday morning we said our good byes to the children and grandchildren and began the long trek to Arizona. The temperature when we left was up to 44 degrees and rose into the 60s by the end of the day. Last year, we went a different way because we had my father with us and left from Louisville and not the Nashville area. But we have gone this way previously so it was fun to see old sites.

    You truly know you are in the South when you pass exits with city names like “Buck Snort” and “Toad Suck.”  The latter was a recreation area. The Mousetail Landing State Park also is a strange name.

   As we did the last time we stayed in Roland, Oklahoma we stayed at the Interstate Inn, which to our delight has upgraded many of the rooms, including the one we got and it was a very pleasant stay. Happily they have retained the old school motel keys and dial telephones that we enjoyed in the past. Across the freeway from the Inn is the Cherokee Casino, which we like because it had great food the last time we were there. (We also played for a few minutes and left $300 to the good last time).

    So we checked in and discovered that the restaurant we liked is not open on Wednesday night but only Thursday-Sunday, perhaps as a result of staffing issues. We discovered that we had a few dollars of free play and so we grabbed a sandwich at the snack bar and promptly sat down and enriched ourselves to the tune of several hundred dollars without spending any of our own. So that was nice. We left after a short time and counted our financial blessings. We have a very fond feeling for the Cherokee tribe.

    Our blessings also include the opportunity and ability to make this annual trek to Arizona where we escape much of the dark, cold days of winter in Michigan. We are extremely grateful for that.

   This morning (December 29) we left Roland, Oklahoma and set sail (literally) for Tucumcari, New Mexico.  We have traveled I-40 at least a dozen times through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona and you can count on one finger the times it hasn’t been blowing a gale. I truly believe that Oklahoma must mean “hurricane winds.” Without the trailer it is not a huge problem, but I lose at least 5 – 6 miles per gallon fighting the winds.

   A few years ago while pulling the trailer through Oklahoma I asked a gas station employee, “Is it always this windy?” And she said without hesitation, “No, sometimes it’s way worse.” We are extremely glad that gas prices fell a little over the last couple months before this trip. The lowest price I have found so far was the $2.32 at Costco in Murfreesboro. Mostly it has been in the $2.59-$2.79 range.

   So tomorrow we will be in Flagstaff (the weather looks decent) and we’ll pick up the trailer and head down the hill to Tucson on Saturday, December 31. Friends have already purchased tickets for us for the New Year’s Dance so more on that later. We hope all our friends have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas celebration and we wish you all a Happy New Year!

 

Time out from Lapeer, Michigan: 6:57 a.m.

Time in to Louisville, Kentucky: 3:51 p.m.

Mileage out: 113721

Mileage in: 114143

Time out from Louisville, Kentucky (Dec. 26): 8 a.m.

Time in to Murfreesboro, Tennessee: 11:45 a.m. (CST)

Mileage out: 114237

Mileage in: 114465

Time out from Murfreesboro, Kentucky (Dec. 28): 114473

Time in to Roland, Oklahoma: 114997

Time out: 8:42 a.m.

Time in: 4:40 p.m. (CST)

Time out from Roland, Oklahoma (Dec. 29): 8:30 a.m.

Time in to Tucumcari, New Mexico: 3:51 p.m.

Mileage out: 114999

Mileage in: 115538

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