Sunday, November 13, 2011

A GOOD FIRST DAY ON THE ROAD…..BUT, NO INTERNET YET:((

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THIS IS MY HAPPY RVING FACE TODAY:))
Saturday November 12th 2011……..As expected, we ran into some unexpected problems hooking up our Verizon equipment Saturday night!!
Hauled my frame out of the recliner for the last time this year at 4:28 a.m. Saturday morning.   Surprisingly, Kelly was already up and had coffee brewing.  Lots to do and everything single thing was last minute stuff…again.  Still dark outside under a clear starry sky as we loaded the last few things into the rig.  Big bright moon.  Pre-ignition and systems check at 6 a.m. with main ignition 35 minutes later.  Lift off at 6:38 a.m.  We are finally underway.  Destination….the great American Southwest:)
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IMG_1226<<< OUR ANNUAL MORNING DEPARTURE PHOTOS
Unlike like last years snow and fog on the way to the border we had a beautiful morning going for us.  Not cold, cloudy or raining.  Fiery sunrise into a clear blue sky.  Reached the four lane highway 402 at 7:45 and the border at 8:05.  It will either be Jacksboro or St. Jo Texas before we get to set our wheels back on a good old secondary two lane highway again.  I will answer the question of why I prefer this route over going through St. Louis, Oklahoma City, etc in a later post.
Thought we were cooked at the border crossing for sure because the lane we picked had a young male border officer checking each vehicle closely.  Opening car doors and trunks for a look see.  Sent the SUV two vehicles ahead of us to the guard house.  Figured for sure he was the kinda guy to pink slip us for an agriculture check for sure.  But no, just the standard dozen questions or so and he handed our passports back and waved us through with a, “have a good day folks.”
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IT’S QUITE A SNUGGLY CREW WE HAVE ABOARD:))
We barely had time to savor our good fortune when just a quarter mile from the border we were siphoned off down a ramp into what turned out be a long and poorly marked detour through the very heart of downtown of Port Huron.  Road work was apparently being done on I-69 but we eventually found our way back to the Interstate without any wrong turns. 
We had heard there was some confusing road construction around Lansing Michigan but we never did see any.  Picked up I-94 and headed for Kalamazoo.  Made a couple Rest Area doggy pit stops along the way and the guys did fine.  Pheebs was so excited at every stop she nearly jumped out of her fur.  We noticed a big change in Motormouse too.  She was so happy to be traveling again because at each Rest Area she was out running around like a happy little puppy dog.  It was fun to watch both her and the Pheebs playing together.
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We reached our day’s Wal-Mart destination of Benton Harbor shortly after 2.  Way to early to be coming off the road for us but we slipped in for some groceries while we were there anyway.  This was the same place we stayed on our first night a year ago.
Back on the road we continued west for another hour and a half to Gary Indiana.  Kelly had found a Cracker Barrel using our ‘Next Exit’ book so figured that’s where we would do our overnighter.  This location turned out to be a bonus find because Cracker Barrel is right next door to the nicely landscaped and state of the art Indiana Welcome Center.   There is even a small lake here.  Even found a large vacant parking area for the guys to rip and tear around.  You can actually see the excitement in their little doggy eyes.  The Welcome Center had a very impressive Christmas theme going on inside based on the movie, ‘The Christmas Story.’  I will include more pics of this display in the days leading up to Christmas.
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OUR OVERNIGHT SPOT BEHIND CRACKER BARREL AND THE INDIANA WELCOME CENTER
A great supper at Cracker Barrel with Kelly having some of those shrimp things and Al having a yummy open faced roast beef sandwich including mashed potatoes and gravy.  Mashed potatoes and gravy sure beats the heck out of Shrimp things in my book.  At the moment I am typing this in our rig parked directly behind Cracker Barrel.  Both Motor and the Pheebs are sound asleep from all their tearing around today.  Pheebs is right beside me on my bed and Motor is curled up in my fleece lined blue jean jacket.  My bed is not wide enough for both Pheebs and I so this will be the first night she will not be able to sleep with me on my bed.  She will have to get used to her own padded doggy bed on the floor.  Motor will sleep on one of our two chair.  We’ll see how our first night goes.  We all have a lot of adjusting to do now that we are on the road.  It’s all a part of being a Snow Bird:))
In the morning we will slip over to a nearby McDonald’s before hitting the road and see if we can check our email and maybe get this blog posted.    Right now our Verizon router is in the process of charging and we are hoping that is all our problem is.  We’ll know tomorrow. (update)  It’s 4:30 Sunday morning and Kelly just got us online) 
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THIS INDIANA WELCOME CENTER HAS A CRACKER BARREL RIGHT BESIDE IT AND THIS IS WHERE WE ARE FOR OUR FIRST OVERNIGHTER:))
We are currently being buffeted by wind gusts and did hear on the 6 o’clock news there will be a wind advisory in this area tomorrow.  Yep, sure is good to be back on the road again alright…….10-4:))  I’ll get Groaner’s Corner up and running later today.

31 comments:

  1. Good to see your off to a fine start, that sure looks like a good spot to stop with all the Christmas decorations, Glad to here the muttso's are adjusting to the vagabond life so well. Be safe out there,Sam & Donna...

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  2. Glad your underway,,,you sound happier than you have for quite a spell... I'm here at Balmorahea, TC near Ft. Stockton.Great little overnight campground right along the interstate full hookups for only $10.00 with Passport Am...Headed for Deming NM today.....good to get back to the desert...Be safe!!! Good traveling!!

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  3. Safe travels! :) Sounds like your trip is off to a great start - hope the rest of the trip goes as smoothly!!

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  4. It's a relief to have you on the road again. :)

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  5. Let the adventures begin... Travel safe
    Donna

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  6. I've been rather out of touch lately, but so pleased to see The Bunch off to a splendid start on this year's journeys. Be safe and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! May your wings be strong and your winds gentle.

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  7. Glad to hear your all Safe and Sound. I feel the exitement in your words. Enjoy yall, enjoy!

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  8. Emerson Drive – I Love This Road (1st Verse)

    Well there’s a long long stretch of highway
    Here in front of me
    It just seems to keep on winding
    As far as I can see
    Sometimes these wrong turns are sweet mysteries
    Sometimes they take us where we’re meant to be
    I love this feeling of freedom running through my veins
    Been too long at the crossroads
    waiting for the light to change
    Even if it takes forever and I never find out where it goes
    Heaven knows
    I love this road

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  9. Welcome back Al and Kelly, travel safe.

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  10. Al,

    You need not post this comment.

    (update) It’s 4:30 Monday morning and Kelly just got us online)

    That should probably be Sunday

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  11. Nice place for your first night on the road! Glad the big wheels are rolling in the right direction. Sure happy for your smooth departure and border crossing. Welcome back to the U.S. Sure have missed seeing y'all.

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  12. How do you deal with winds??? I was in So. AZ all last week, and going, staying and returning were dicey with big gusts and some pelting rain. Wind continues in AZ now. Sheesh. My little trailer rocked and bucked. So, how do you deal with winds?

    Emjay

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  13. Glad all is going good... enjoy the journey!

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  14. nice to see you had a great first travel day...and nice spot to stay overnight...the furkids look soooo happy :) be safe out there

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  15. Can't you just feel all the tension leave when you get in the RV and down the road?? We are re-cleaning our house after 20 adults and 8 kids invaded yesterday...See ya on the up side!

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  16. Such a marvelous feeling to be on the road again. And it appears the fur kids feel the same way you do about it. The desert is calling.

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  17. What I hear is one happy camper man! Good to see you are on the road with your crew. Be careful out there....the prediction is gusts up to 45mph! The advisory even stated that it's dangerous for high profile vehicles.

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  18. Awww, that's so cool to feel your excitement coming right off the printed page! As former Indiana residents for many years, we were surprised that Indiana has such a fine welcome center.

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  19. So happy to hear you're on the road! Sounds like a great first day, even w/ the detour!
    Nina

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  20. onwards and southwards!..enjoy the view out the windshield!!

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  21. Great to hear your happy voice back on the road again. I know how you feel, wish my husband felt the same. Looking forward to all your adventures. Your blog looks absolutely great online although it is sometimes a little hard to read using Google Reader as the background for that is white rather than black.

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  22. You must have had some kind of magic light around your MH to get through Customs so easily when they were giving all others such a hard way to go. Glad that is past you, and it's maybe a good omen for the rest of the trip!

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  23. The little Motor Mouse looks so happy and content, can feel it in your words too. Safe Travels!
    Brought tears to my eyes...

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  24. Now the real fun begins! Hope you have as much fun as all the good times you've been dreaming of all summer.

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  25. Glad to see you are finally on the road. As I have been reading other blogs it's fun to read about everyone getting ready to head south. Glad you are on the road, I think you might be the last Snowbird leaving Canada.

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  26. Keep us posted. Safe travels.

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  27. Welcome back!

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  28. I'm always so relieved once I get through Customs. They sure know how to make you feel 'unwelcome'.

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  29. So glad you had easy sailing at the Border. I asked a question about that on the Escapee Discussion Board once and got 5 pages of horror stories. Stay safe out there.

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  30. Welcome back into the States!
    May the winds become tail winds for the rest of your trip south!
    Kelly must have a toasty lap with her canine crew! :)

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