TERRE HAUTE INDIANA TO SIKESTON MISSOURI: RAINED MOST OF THE WAY BUT IT SURE CLEANED UP OUR VEHICLES:))

SNOOZING AWAY THE MILES TODAY

It was a familiar sound which slowly dragged me out of a sound sleep around 4 a.m.  A sound I hadn’t heard since we were in Canada’s Maritime provinces a few months ago and had I remembered to check our weather site before going to bed I would have known it was on it’s way.  I’m talking about rain of course and maybe I should be careful what I wish for.  Walking around the road grime encrusted Motorhome and Jeep late Sunday afternoon I thought to myself, ‘wished it would rain and wash some of this dirt off’.  Laying awake this morning listening to rain pattering on our roof I knew I had received my wish.  Looking at the weather map I saw it was a big  system and figured we would be in it for most of the day.  And we were.

WE HAD US A SLIGHTLY FOGGY MORNING DRIVE WITH PLENTY OF RAIN

HOW’S ABOUT A LITTLE SMOCH MOM

Being on the road now we start our days off with music instead of television.  Must say it is a much pleasanter way to begin our morning than our usual jarring doom and gloom morning news routine.  We have found while traveling over the years we have never been in the habit of watching much TV and this year we gave up our Shaw Direct satellite TV completely.  I think our on board TV has been the most unused electronic device in the coach and the bedroom TV has never been turned on since we bought the rig over four years ago.  With no TV it is very refreshing for me to be away from the fiasco of America’s major political  mega-storm:))

IT WAS ALMOST LIKE DRIVING THROUGH A LARGE CAR WASH AT TIMES TODAY

SKIES FINALLY BEGAN TO BRIGHTEN BY EARLY AFTERNOON AND THOSE CLOUDS ALMOST LOOK LIKE MOUNTAINS

CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER INTO MISSOURI

Having already pre-determined tonight’s destination and traveling at a much slower pace than usual we rolled out of Terre Haute’s Walmart parking lot at 8:15 and drove ourselves into a different time zone which dropped us back an hour.  With both light and heavy rains upon us we made our way south on I-69 through a medium fog with visibility about half a mile.  Couldn’t even see Effingham Illinois as we passed through and effortlessly changed from I-70 west to I-57 south.  Very light traffic again which is not surprizing once one puts more distance between themselves and the Eastern Seaboard.  First Rest Area we came to we pulled in and shut er down for a nice forty minute break.  It was nearly 10 o’clock.  Pouring rain but no matter, we had our washroom, living room, bedroom, and kitchen on board so no need to go outside.  Except for Pheebs of course and it was a quick trip to a patch of grass and back she made.  If she looks a little wet in the post’s first photo, that’s why.  Until we reached this Rest Area in southern Illinois we had not seen another single RV on the road which surprised me.  There were all of a sudden 6 in this Rest Area alone.

A FORTY MINUTE STOP AT AN I-57 REST AREA

Rains, heavy at times continued all the way to about Marion Illinois before skies began to brighten and it was about the Illinois/Missouri State line that we first began to see patches of dry pavement.  It was about this point when we were suddenly buffeted by strong head winds and that lasted for the final 15 miles to our destination.

GOT STUCK IN A BIG TRAFFIC JAM ON I-57 EARLIER DUE TO THIS TRACTOR TRAILER FIRE

TRAFFIC IS BACKED UP FOR MILES BEHIND US

Despite a half hour traffic jam on I-57 due to what looked like a truck or trailer fire in the southbound lanes we finally made it to a Walmart parking lot in Sikeston Missouri.  Stepping out of the coach under cloudy wind blown skies we found it noticeably warmer than Sunday.  In fact i turned the heater off somewhere around Mt Vernon Illinois and put my driver’s window down for awhile today.  The local Sikeston Walmartians were walking around in short sleeves and knee socks.

NOT EVERYONES CUP OF TEA OF COURSE BUT WE DO QUITE LIKE THE CONVENIENCE OF OUR OVERNIGHT WALMART STOPS ALONG THE WAY

USING HER OWN RAIN WATER MOTHER NATURE SURE DID A BANG-UP JOB CLEANING OUR VEHICLES TODAY

AND SEE THAT SHADOW ON THE SIDE IF THE RIG….YEP THE SUN  EVEN BRIEFLY POPPED OUT:))))))

After two months of depressingly dismal weather back home in Bayfield Ontario would you believe that out of the next 14 days weather forecasters are predicting SUN and cloud for 13 of those 14 days.  Of course we knew that would happen didn’t we eh.  I think it best I stop checking Bayfield weather for the next few months………..

HERE’S OUR DILIGENTLY PATIENT ‘SOLVER OF ALL PROBLEMS’ KELLY DEALING WITH VERIZON TODAY

And for you folks who enjoyed my son Sean’s music in Sunday night’s post you can hear more from him here at Kings On A Ledge.  I especially like Sean’s vocal range on the video, ‘The Returned’.  Along with the soundtrack it’s a powerful well done video. 

TWO OF THE BEST

GROANER’S CORNER:(( For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.1. The Japanese eat very little fatand suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.  2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.  3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.  4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.  5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.  CONCLUSION:  Eat and drink what you like.  Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

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Q: How many inner-city gang members does it take to screw in a lightbulb?  A: Four--one to rob the liquor store to get money for the bulb, one to drive the getaway car, one to screw it in, and one to hold his crack pipe while he does it.

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