Head winds, cross winds, but nothing kept us from getting home

Today was perhaps one of the worst travel days we have had so far. The weather was clear, but the winds were horrendous. So bad that I had to make an unscheduled gas stop because we had horrible gas mileage with the head winds.

Usually we get about 10-11 miles per gallon, but today we were getting 7-8 miles per gallon all due to the high winds.

Steering the Tahoe was a little like wrestling an alligator and about as stressful. Took us about an hour to unpack the trailer and then I took it over to Circle K RV for some minor work.

Mileage out: 58344

Time out: 8:07 a.m.

Mileage in: 58546

Time in: 12:01 p.m.

Total miles on trip: 6,402

Total miles on trailer on trip: 3,422

Duration: Seven weeks, 1 day.

A return to our Amish friends

We experienced our first real winter night since we left Michigan. Temperatures down in the 20s, snow on the ground and the propane heater ran several times during the night just to keep us at 65 degrees in here.

My initial worries that we might have trouble plowing through the mud tomorrow when it is time to leave were relieved this morning when I saw how hard everything froze up overnight. Tonight is supposed to be 18, so it should be like driving on concrete when we leave her tomorrow for home.

Up early today so I did my weight exercises and crunches while watching a little local TV. I also worked on organizing our photos a little bit so it won’t be so hard to find them when I’m old and senile.

For seven weeks we have camped in RV parks that were relatively full, some were completely full, and I never had to wait for a shower the whole time. We like using the camp showers because they are usually pretty nice and much roomier than our trailer shower.

One of the maintenance dangers to a trailer is moisture inside and nothing creates moisture like a warm shower, so that is another reason that we use the camps’ showers. Heck, you’re already paying for it anyway so why not?

But I digress, in this huge park, which is essentially empty except for Joan and I and maybe one other camper, they have kept open only one shower house. So I headed over to clean up and to my amazement the only other person in the park was using the single shower available. But he finished soon and my mission was accomplished. I thought it was Just kind of ironic.

Late this morning, we headed out to pick up some handmade things that my sister-in-law ordered while we were visiting here last summer. First we went to the weaver’s home where Irma met us in the driveway and handed us a set of beautiful woven goods for Diane’s new table. Seat covers, runners and placemats were all neatly placed in a plastic bag.

Next stop was just down the road at Irma’s cousin, Ivan Helmuth, who had made a custom dinette table for Diane. Ivan was not there, but his daughter allowed us to pack up the table and chairs in Ivan’s shop and head on our way. The table and chairs were beautiful and we know Diane will be pleased with the result even if it took awhile.

Finally we went to our favorite meat store, Yoder’s meats, in Shipshewanna, and stocked up on steaks, burger and cheese.

The rest of the day will be packing up and getting ready to hitch up in the morning and head to home sweet home.

What's wrong with this picture?

Down to the final leg of our journey we arose early in Louisville and decided to hit the road as soon as possible so we could get the trailer winterized in Elkhart, Indiana before we settled into our final campsite at Eby’s Campground.

Readers of Grandma’s Recess will recall that we stayed here last summer with Joan’s sister Diane and our brother-in-law Denny. Couple of differences this time though, we are the only ones apparently staying in the park and there is snow on the ground. Ugh.

Temperatures were in the low 40s, but are expected to go backwards for the next couple days starting tonight.

Only one bathroom and shower is open but we’ll make do for a couple days. Unfortunately the park management had to leave today before we arrived and we were not given the key for the wireless Internet, so that will hopefully explain the late posting of this blog entry.

During the drive today there were a couple very tight construction spots that kept me on my toes while negotiating the rig through heavy commuter traffic in downtown Louisville.

Also took a new highway, US 31, which was slow at first as it worked its way through north Indianapolis, but once it cleared out it was a nice highway with some interesting vistas, including some pretty heavy flooding from yesterday’s storms.

We stopped at Capital RV Services and had the water lines blown out so that when temperatures drop into the low 20s tonight we will not have to worry about breaking a water line. The leak I thought I had fixed in Pensacola returned overnight in Louisville and so the trailer will be going in for service as soon as we arrive back so we can get that fixed.

Talked to our Lapeer RV mechanic today and he gave us some advice on the winterization, which we had performed this afteroon.

Joan fixed Shrimp Louie for dinner and without Internet and only minimal over-the-air stations we had a quiet night in a very quiet park. Tomorrow we have a couple chores to do (more on that later) and then we’ll prepare for the final leg of our trip Thursday morning.

The eagerness to get home is starting to settle in. (The answer to the headline question is snow and cold). (Thanks to the McDonald's in Middlebury, Indiana for the free wifi so I could post this on Wednesday afternoon).

Mileage out: 57990
Time out: 9 a.m.

Mileage in: 58300
Time in: 3:20 p.m. (with a ½ hour maintenance stop in Elkhart)