Friday, December 22, 2017

BAYFIELD ONTARIO TO AUBURN INDIANA…..THE WEATHER ADVISORY WAS ‘MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING’ AND WE HAD US A GOOD DRIVING DAY

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It was 5 a.m. when I apprehensively parted the living room curtains to have myself a look outside.  Everything again was covered in a layer of new fallen snow.  Earlier I had heard the big snow blower go by so knew there had to be a substantial amount of snow to bring the snow blower driver out.  By 6 I was outside with my snow shovel clearing a path to the Motorhome.  We only had about 2 inches on the ground and with no wind whipping it around I figured Thursday’s weather advisory was ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.  By 8 o’clock we had everything loaded up and off we went.

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COME ON PHEEBS WE’RE HEADED FOR CALIFORNIA’

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‘BUT WILL THEY HAVE DOGGY TREATS IN CALIFORNIA MOM’??

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‘WELL OKAY AS LONG AS THEY HAVE LOTS OF EXTRA DOGGY TREATS FOR ME’

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IT WAS 8 A.M. WHEN WE HAD THE BIG WHEELS ROLLING

Turns out the worst of today’s snow was right at home in our driveway with roads only being partially snow covered as far as Grand Bend.  By the time we stopped in Forest Ontario for coffee’s to go roads were bare and drive with only skiffs of snow in the fields.

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STOPPED AT TIM HORTONS FOR A COUPLE COFFES TO GO PLUS A SMALL BOX OF TIMBITS 

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PHEEBS ESCORTS MISS KELLY BACK TO THE RIG

With Christmas being so close I figured we’d be in for a long line-up at the border so imagine our surprise when there were only two cars ahead of us.  We skipped across that international line in about 2 minutes and the day just simply got better from there.  Could hardly believe the absence of traffic on I-69.  There were times when I looked in my rear view mirror and there wasn’t a single vehicle to be seen.  Stopped at  a Rest Area and there were only 2 semis there.  Truckers must be home for Christmas.  The interstate remained bare and dry.  No wind, no rain, no snow, and cloudy skies even brightened a few times.

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HEADING OVER THE BLUEWATER BRIDGE FROM CANADA TO THE UNITED STATES ABOUT 9:45 THIS MORNING

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AND THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN YOU ARE NEXT IN LINE AT THE BORDER…..THE PERSON SITTING IN THAT BOOTH UP THERE HAS TOTAL CONTROL OVER WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO SPEND YOUR WINTER……BEFORE ONE GETS TO THAT BOOTH ONE RUNS A GAMUT OF ELECTRONIC SURVEILLENCE EQUIPMENT…..NO WONDER WE ALWAYS GET BUTTERFLYS IN OUR STOMACHS AND YES THAT CORRIDOR AHEAD IS EVEN NARROWER THAN IT LOOKS

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DON’T THINK I’VE EVER SEEN A REST AREA WITH SO FEW TRUCKS IN IT

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STOPPED SOMEWHERE IN MICHIGAN FOR A LEG STRETCH

We haven’t traveled this route for quite awhile so it was nice seeing old familiar names of towns going by.  We both tired early so decided to call it a day around 2 p.m. which is almost unheard of for us.   We knew there to be a couple Cracker Barrel locations ahead with one being in Auburn Indiana and the other in Fort Wayne.  We figured the Auburn location would be less busy so that is as far as we went today.  Cracker Barrels are always located very close to the Interstates and this one was so easy to reach we were almost in the door before we knew we were in Auburn.  We like doing over-nighters at those crackling of barrel places because they are usually quiet, have grassy areas for Pheebs, and we like their food.  Now having said all that, we are not exactly at Cracker Barrel for the night…..we are at Home Depot just a couple stones throw away from Cracker Barrel.  We could not find an acceptable flat spot in the CB parking lot so slipped over to Home Depot and set up camp in their flatter lot.  From there about 3:30 this afternoon we walked back over to Cracker Barrel for supper.  Kelly had their Fish-in-Chips special while I had an open face roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes swimming in gravy.  We sure do love our Cracker Barrels and the only times we ever go there is when we are on the road traveling.  No CB’s in Canada.

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THIS IS HOME FOR THE NIGHT

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BET Y’ALL KNOW WHERE KELLY’S HEADING FOR

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YEP IT’S CRACKER BARREL ALRIGHT

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MADE SURE TO GET THERE BEFORE THE AFTERNOON RUSH AND THIS IS HOW WE LOVE TO SEE OUR CRACKER BARRELS….., EMPTY AND FREE OF NOISE

The Motorhome ran flawlessly today and it was nice being back on the road again.  As usually happens we left all of our angst of these past couple months behind and with each mile traveled our life and times and concerns in Bayfield slipped further and further away.  It has always been that way for us and I knew once we transitioned into the Motorhome we would pick up right where we had left off 10 months ago and feel much better for doing so.  Sometimes the hardest part of getting out for a walk is getting off the couch.  Oh, and tomorrow we may have us a time zone change so my published post will possibly occur in a different time frame depending on where you are.

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KELLY FOUND IT A LITTLE CHILLY SO HERE SHE DOES UP HER COAT BEFORE WE WALK BACK TO THE RIG OVER AT HOME DEPOT

GROANER’S CORNER:((  As we were putting out cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, I accidentally dropped one.  'No problem,' I said, picking it up and dusting it off before placing it back on the plate. 'You can’t do that,' argued my four-year-old.
'Don’t worry. Santa will never know.' He shot me a look. 'So he knows if I’ve been bad or good, but he doesn’t know the cookie fell on the floor?'

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38 comments:

  1. So good to read that you are on the road! Safe and happy travels, we'll see you in the desert!

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  2. Thanks for the update! You KNOW I was looking to see how your day went! Sounds like a winner. Safe travels tomorrow.

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  3. So happy to hear things went well on your first day of travels!

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  4. Great news you guys. Keep on truckin’!!

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  5. So glad everything went smoothly! Hope the rest of the winter is just as good.

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  6. Oh yay!! Easy, peasy escape from the snowy north :-) I've always wondered if Home Depots let RVs park in their lots. Good to see at least that one's policy allows it!!
    Welcome back to the US!!

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  7. Happy the travels went so well. Hope it stays that way sure it will.

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  8. So pleased that you had a good day of travel and know they will only get better heading to the southwest. Safe travels.

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  9. Glad to hear you made it safely out of the country, or is that into the country. Either way. Welcome back.

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  10. Good to get that first day out of the way. Hoping for nice weather ahead. Be careful.

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  11. I think that easy-through border crossing set the tone for your trip!

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  12. When we would travel in the RV, we usually only planned on going 250 miles a day. That way, we were never tired out and if we wanted to, we could go further if we felt like it. Of course, on the way home, the last day of the trip was a lot longer for some reason.

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  13. Great! You are on the road. Enjoy the winter and have a Merry Christmas:-)

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  14. That's great you a good first day and the roads were favorable for traveling. Safe travels and take care.

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  15. I'm glad you are on the road and headed to weather more to your liking.

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  16. So glad for you guys to get this opportunity to get away for a few months. Kelly and Pheebs look relaxed and ready for the journey. After all, isn't the journey 80% of the excitement?

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  17. Whooooo hooooo! So happy to see you on the road!
    Nina

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  18. Nice to hear you all got away yesterday. We had snow overnight near Tulsa, Oklahoma! Gonna have to travel pretty far south to get to warmth me thinks!!

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  19. Glad you got a good start and hope the rest out your travels go smoothly.

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  20. This morning looks like a snow weather advisory all the way to St Louis on your route.

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  21. On the road again - that's so wonderful. Safe travels.

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  22. You don't know how relieved I was to read this blog last night!! Glad things are going well for you guys!

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  23. Glad you are threading the weather needle!

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  24. Yahoo Louie! Finally figured out how to leave comments here again.

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  25. Glad to see you are threading the weather needle.

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  26. Glad all things went well. Those rows at the border are very skinny! Also glad it was an easy crossing. Safe travels!

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  27. Wonderful post. So happy for you all. Keep those wheels rolling.

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  28. Glad you all are on the road again and had a good day! Can't wait for more news! Hope the rest of your trip is this smooth! Do you know where you will end up yet?

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  29. Tickled to pickles you are back on the road. Welcome.

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  30. So happy to hear your first travel day went well. Soon enough Kelly will be unzipping her winter coat. Wishing you further smooth travels!

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  31. You've made it out of the snow at least. Sooo excited to see your headed for California! Maybe we'll actually get to meet you guys... that would be soo awesome!!

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  32. Did you remember to shut the water off in the shower this morning before you left

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    1. Gol darnit I knew there was something I had forgot!!

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  33. Awesome start...hope you will be shedding those coats real soon!

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  34. Great travel day!!!!! Welcome back!!!!!!
    So happy you guys are on the road again!!!!

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  35. Al & Kelly
    Be safe have a great trip. "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Years" So glad to see you have had an uneventful trip so far. According to the national weather forecast it looks like you are driving into some "Heavy Weather Conditions" Very glad that you both are feeling good and back on the road.

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