Wednesday, November 2, we drove out to Extra Space Storage in Mundelein (where the RV has been stored since April) about noon and by 2 pm we were on the road, driving south towards Memphis. I'm the copilot here...but I also take turns being the pilot.
Not sure how far we'll get today, but it will be a good start. Left in pouring rain but the sun came out about an hour into the ride.
Don has gotten very good at knowing what to do before departure, getting the bus ready, connecting the car, etc. We have no park/campground reservations, just plan on driving till close to dark, then finding a place to stop for the night. We don't plan on any night driving or do night driving if we can avoid it.
We would like to get down to Memphis to visit Susan (Don's sister), Jack (Don's brother) and Gene and Gloria (spouses)...sometime tomorrow, probably late in the day if the travel Gods are with us!
The bus is equipped with basics, (dishes, sheets, towels, some personal items, etc.) so taking off this year was pretty easy compared to the first time last year. We even have clothes in the drawers and closets, so we just needed to add a few things for this trip and we're set. Since it will be stored, we're not going to buy much food. Instead just stop to eat along the way. It sure is nice having a bathroom, tho! Don had maintenance done on it the month before.
We drove south thru Illinois until about 7 pm, then stopped at a Denny's for some dinner...we need to find a parking lot or a truck stop big enough because the RV is 40 ft. long and the car being towed brings the total length to about 60 ft....so we need plenty of room for pulling in, pulling out, parking...etc. Kinda hard to pull in to a Culver's parking lot with this rig. Good thing, too! (I don't need to eat any more ice cream!)
Back on the road by about 7:30, we might make it to Mt. Vernon or Carbondale, IL...then stop for the night. After our food stop, we traveled as far as Mount Vernon, a total of 310 miles, towards Memphis. We're stopped at a truck stop for the night. Huddle House ... Huck's Gaming Casino, all right here in the parking lot!
Thanks to a good antenna on the roof, we are able to watch the CMA award show, but we can't pull in the World Series game - Cubs....boo-hoo!
We will be up early and hit the road, headed for Memphis and our visiting. Gene is having knee replacement surgery tomorrow! So, we'll see him in the hospital. Don's brother Jack lives there too and we'll meet him and his wife Gloria for breakfast before we start driving on Friday towards Houston.
Last night we were dry docking it, and able to get a few TV stations. We were following the World Series on our iphones best we could, most of the time with facebook posts....couldn't get it on TuneIn radio! (Only subscribers). So we went to sleep happy knowing the Cubs pulled it out in what turned out to be a nail biter!
Thursday morning wake up was at 7...as we had windows open and we parked in the front of the restaurant parking lot. The big lot in back where all the semi's park was pretty full, we arrived somewhat late - after 8 pm. We find that arriving later than the dinner hour at the truck stops can be a problem, because by then they are really, really full, with hundreds of semi's parked for the night! We often park by spreading out across 6-8 car parking spaces in the front of the Denny's or other restaurant for the night. Once parked we realized we were on an incline, tho, and not level. Rain came along and we got a pretty good leak in one of the sides. It got warm in the RV and we started opening windows. We're thinking we had the leak at one of the slides, maybe due to parking on an incline, as we haven't had it before. Towels took care of the little flow of water and once the rain stopped, it wasn't a problem.
In the morning Don realized the tow car was not shut off when we arrived the night before. So, the car battery was dead. Both of us need to do a better job of checking the check lists when we arrive and take off and park. The car battery needed and got a jump.
At 8 am we were ready to roll out and head down the road with coffee in hand. Promises to be a good day. Sun is shining in the east, nice to see it as we didn't see sunshine all day yesterday thru Illinois. Plan for today is to get to Memphis. Susan said we can park in front of the house for 24 hours, but we're gonna be there a little more than 24 hours....so I'll look for a park nearby. It's really easy to stay in the RV and not unpack or pack up anything for a one night stay in a hotel. If we find a park, we can hook up, shower, open up the slides and be very, very comfy.
I love to take pictures of state welcome signs as we travel around the country. Missouri has a nice welcome, we just passed thru a corner of the state.
Once on the road, we stopped at 9:57 am at a PilotJ truck stop, hoping the car battery (while being towed and connected to the RV) had charged enough to start it, but not the case. Don turned off the CRV and then it wouldn't start agin. So, it needed to be jumped. Don got jumper cables in the gas station, and jumped it, it started up and we were able to put it in neutral and take off again. We found a park to stop at in Memphis, not far from Susan and Jack. It will be more convenient to set up and sleep in the RV tonight and check over things with the sides open, make lists for things we'll need after it's stored in Houston and shop for a little. It'll be great to see Susan, Gene, Jack and Gloria again, Don's sibs - Jack and Susan. We don't see them near enough!
We have about 227 miles to go, it's a little after 10 am, should definitely make it for dinner!
Don drove until about 1:30, we found a Wal-Mart parking lot and were able to walk to a McDonald's for a salad and some lunch. Don turned the car off again. And again when we got back it wouldn't start. Luckily a couple guys in pick up trucks were nearby and happy to drive over and give us a jump. Car put in neutral again and off we go! We're only about a little over an hour away from Memphis and the RV park. We'll have to deal with the CRV battery when we get there.
Driving along, Don is doing most of the driving today. It's a gorgeous, sunny day and the further south we go, the warmer it gets.
We arrived in the Memphis area about 3:30 pm, found the RV park Agricenter RV Park, and got a nice wide pull thru space to park in. Don did the hook ups, dumped the black tank, hooked up electric, and we were very happy to pop out the slides and spread out inside. Needed the air on, it's hot here!
Lots of room to spread out in Memphis at the Agricenter RV Park. It was a nice one night stopover and we would love to go back and spend a longer visit here. Reasonable rates, about $30 a night, and close to everything - especially Don's family!
And Susan picked us up to take us to see Gene. After Gene's visit in the hospital (knee replacement) we went for some barbecue dinner! A special treat was to enjoy dinner with Don and Susan's cousin, Norma. These cousins grew up together, in Memphis, and now are enjoying lots of senior moments together! The four of us enjoyed a good barbecue dinner.
Tomorrow, Friday, we're meeting Don's brother Jack (80) for breakfast with his wife Gloria. Then we'll pull the slides in and start driving towards Houston.
We enjoyed a nice breakfast with Jack and Gloria at Perkins. Susan joined us for coffee...and then took us over to Sarah's, her daughter's - to see her twin granddaughters, Olivia and Charlotte. The twins are cared by another daughter of Susan's - Rachel. Rachel has a son, Westin. So, there were 3 little ones under 3! Very busy visit!
Next it was back to the RV park, close up the bus and drive out for gas, and on towards Houston. It was 1:15 pm when we drove out of the Agricenter RV park, which turned out to be a great stop at $30 a night with full hookups and lots of room - AND close to everything we could want - shops and restaurants.
Oh, and the CRV car battery, seemed to charge up yesterday when we towed it - Don left the engine on to tow it, and it worked cause it started right up this morning. No need to jump it again.
Susan and one of the twins.
Sarah, Don, Olivia and Charlotte
We have 3 days to get to Houston and it's about 600 miles from here. So, lots of time, we don't need to hurry and we will probably stop at truck stops and sleep on the way and maybe get down there a day early and see a little bit of Houston
Time and weather is on our side!
We decided to keep driving and not stop for lunch...just snacked along the way, and we could make it as far as Texarkana, AK, by dark. Worked out great! Pat called a Walmart Supercenter in Texarkana to ask if we could park overnight in the lot, we got the okay, and that became our destination. 294 miles for the day! We pulled in, there was a deli in the front lot of the shopping center, we walked for some dinner and then did a little shopping in Walmart and back to the bus for some sleep. Good day all the way around!
We woke up in the Walmart parking lot just about sunrise, and I snapped this picture!
Set the alarm for 7 am, we're anxious to get on the road and get to Houston. It's about 310 miles, an easy day drive for us for sure! Now we're arriving earlier than expected, by 2 days! So, we can find a park, set up and enjoy the area a little, late Saturday, all day Sunday and half of Monday. We fly to Chicago Monday afternoon late.
Left the Walmart parking lot at 8:30 - Houston bound!
Some of the interstate highways in Texas have these nice end cap designs on the roads...the Texas star and the outline of the state:
Sometimes you see things along the highways that make you laugh! Here's a quick way to move a couch!
I try to take pictures out the window of city skylines, the challenge is we're moving fast, there are usually LOTS of bugs on the windshield, and depending on the sun and time of day, I get reflections or other problems that keep me from getting a good shot.
The big sports arena in Houston is Minute Maid stadium.
We pretty much drove straight thru to Houston, stopping only for warming up some soup in the microwave. We arrived at the Southlake RV Resort, just a little south of downtown Houston at 3:35 pm. The total mileage for this trip is 1,200 miles. Unfortunately when Don went to unhook the CRV - it was dead again. So we need to figure out what is making the car battery die while being towed.
Here is our arrival and where we'll stay for the next two nights in Houston, Southlake RV Resort. Lots of fifth wheels and campers here, a few big RV coach homes like ours. Nice cement pads, full hook ups, nice staff greeting. We parked and drove over to Cube Smart, to register two spaces to store the car and RV for the months of November and December, and then found a steakhouse for dinner. Great day driving to Houston!
Our arrival day was a gorgeous, sunny, hot day in Texas! 85 degrees. Oh, and the days are a little longer here in the south...staying light till about 6:30...that will change tonight. Looks like this park has good internet - I might get to load some pictures and post this tonight.
All in all it was a pretty uneventful drive south as far as the mechanical problems, driver problems, etc. We were happy to be driving south, to get the RV out of the cold. Driving around Houston was interesting, as there are so many new roads and so much construction. What a growing area it is!
Our last day in Houston, driving to the CubeSmart storage location, Don hit a tollbooth and knocked down the right side mirror. Ugh. Not good. It's challenging to drive without it, so first thing on the list when we return is to have this fixed before we can drive west. The toll booth was extremely tight...had to go thru a toll lane to pay the toll (Illinois eZPass doesn't work in Texas)...so crunch!
With mirror dangling, Don drove the remaining 4 or so miles to storage...made it! Doors locked until December 31!
