Maiden Voyage...and K A R M A ....

Today - Sunday, June 28th, is a milestone day for the newbie RV'ers....Pat and Don.  Don took the wheel for the entire day as we traveled south to Normal, Illinois for our "trial" run.

We packed a few things like sheets, towels, pillows, overnight necessities  - and drove away from Normandy Hills in Northbrook.

Our plan for our first "trip" in the new travel home was to take it down to Normal IL, to Crosspoint Cummins where maintenance is done on RV's and trucks - big trucks, that is (and BIG RV's).  We needed to have the chassis serviced.  These big hummers can't be serviced just anywhere....and when it was purchased in Island Lake IL we were told it had been serviced down in Normal.  Don decided to call and make an appointment for the first service on it and have a few things checked out.  It would give us a chance to drive it not too far away from home, sleep in it, and get familiar with all the ins and outs.

We decided to program the GPS to keep us off highways and interstates, so it was a long afternoon meandering thru the farmlands of Illinois - roads well known by both of us from many motorcycle trips thru the years.  Corn fields after corn fields and then MORE corn fields.  No surprises except the further south we drove we began to see LOTS of these:

Windmills among the corn fields!

The day was overcast and we hit a few sprinkles but all in all Don did a great job driving.  I wasn't feeling 100%, so I was the copilot for the day.  You could say I was the "nag-a-vator!"

Something pretty incredible happened along the way to Normal.  We stopped for gas at a station in Oswego.  I went in to use the bathroom (no we hadn't started using the toilet in the RV yet) and when I walked back outside there was Don talking alongside the RV with another couple.  They pulled up and asked him how he liked the bus.  Turns out it was the prior owner!  As I approached I heard Don say - Pat, you're not going to believe who this is...and boy - what a surprise!  This was their fifth and last RV.  They expressed lots of sellers remorse but just couldn't drive the distance to Florida anymore.

They were driving down the road when HE noticed the RV in the gas station.  HE (Frank) said to his wife - "that's our RV!" - turn around and drive back in to that gas station!  So SHE (Donna) turned around and pulled in and they introduced themselves to Don.

Original RV owners find us at a gas station stop in Oswego!

Now, what are the chances of that happening??????

So, we stood and talked to "Donna" and "Frank" and asked several questions about the vehicle, and they gave us their phone number to phone them if we had more questions.  They were quite friendly and happy to meet us!

Our little trip south was pretty uneventful as Don got used to navigating thru construction areas, small roads thru little Illinois towns, interstate highways, even parking lots as we looked for our dinner stop near Normal.  Don did an amazing job on our first trip out!  I declined driving at all as I wasn't feeling well...maybe had a little touch of some flu bug and I had a slight headache all day.

At the end of the day we parked in the parking lot of Crosspoint Cummins, pulled down the blinds covering the windows, cranked up the generator to cool the place, Pat took a shower and by 10 pm we were both comfortably tucked away in bed for a good night's sleep in our king sized bed!

What a great first day out on the road!