Time to Go, Small Convoy - Collages Show the Journey

Lima, Ohio

On Saturday, November 2^nd Bill and I were awake just after 5:30 am and up at 6:15. We slept well, at least I did and Bill was in bed soon after me so I’m hoping he managed to get his required 6 hours of sleep. We were excited for the journey ahead and got dressed for the day. A peek out the tv window told us that our travel mates were also up and at it.

Hooking up in good time

Jo-Anne had sent a plate of light rhubarb muffins over as a breakfast treat so we each warmed one of those up, added butter and enjoyed it very much. Thanks Jo! There must be a Murphy’s Law that applies to rv’s too as when we added water to our fresh water tank the other day, for the first time ever, it only registered “0”. Bill tried to judge the number of gallons he was putting in but how does anyone do that successfully?

Bob hooking up as well

After he stopped at what he assumed was around 35 gallons we went about our business. This morning as he was washing up, the tap was sputtering indicating very little water. Good grief! So, after packing and closing the slides, we hooked up and Bill backed down beside the shop’s big doors and added more water. We won’t be having showers on the road so should be fine for two days. It was a cold 37F/2C morning with some winds and cloudy skies.

Backed in beside the shop door to get water in our tank

Hard to see her, but she is smiling for this new adventure too

Jo-Anne and I compared notes on the food she had in her fridge and before long, we were all ready to go. It was 8:10 when we pulled out. Woohoo!

Even Higgins is ready

Our gps units were set with the first destination in Port Huron at Bluewater Shipping. We have a parcel waiting for pick up before we go any further. A little mixup after the crossing because there is no where for you to stop and wait for anyone. We got together again, easy enough, and drove to the pickup depot.

A no nonsense dull day for our drive

We got a kick out of the snow on the west side of the hydro poles
There wasn't enough sun yesterday to melt it

The trees have mostly lost their leaves in the Stratford area

We all needed a break anyway so Bill put the front jacks down and opened up our 2 slides enough to gain access to the bathroom. Again, easy enough. We were back on the road by 11:30 headed for our first overnight destination in Ohio. The rain stopped about an hour ago and that makes for a nicer drive. No sooner did we get on to I-69/I-94 and we realized that we were all ready for lunch so pulled off at the first Rest Area for our sandwiches. They were just as good as I’d hoped.

Our 402 highway is one of the trial runs for new speed signs
Increase from 100 km/h to 110

Approaching the Bluewater Bridge
Unfortunately, we were on the bridge for 30 minutes.
Traffic was c - r - A - z - EEE!!

Needless to say, I had lots of time for pictures
The big one is my favourite
Canada and U.S. Flags fly proudly on the Michigan side

The big picture here shows clearly the varying depths of the St. Clair River
with what appears to be an obvious divider between Canada and the U.S.
to the left of this boater

Their trees are still in a state of Ballroom dress - beautiful
On the right, the line ups at border crossings - One hour from toll booths to
our "have a good day" exit on the other side

Driving I-94 around the Detroit, MI area is never fun and today, not to disappoint, we hit a lot of construction areas where we were all squished into one line – many times. Finally, we took Exit 194 to 275S and caught I-75S 15 minutes later. The sun was playing tag with the clouds but it was nice to see it for however long it stayed visible. The temperature at 1:30 was 46F. Around 2 we pulled off to a Sunoco for fuel and both of us topped up. The roads were making us all cringe and we are now very afraid to open our units.

Blue water shipping - Bill goes in to get our package

I like the appropriate name of "Shook" Rd - it should say Shook Up, really
Top right - Gateway Bridge
Bottom right, some attempt to make parts of Michigan pretty

I missed a picture of the Ohio sign but we knew we were in another state immediately as the highway was like night and day. Smooth as a baby’s bottom, almost. Another burp in the trip happened near Monroe, Mi when Bill and I got confused and took a wrong exit. Trying to avoid downtown areas is always the plans and in doing so, zagged when we should have zigged. Poor J & B just followed us blindly but scratched their heads.

We saw more traffic cones than we care to see again - ever

So, we took a scenic route and eventually got us back onto I-75S. We were all getting tired and really didn’t need those added miles but it is what it is and we are all still smiling. We found Exit 125 to Lima and made our way to the Cracker Barrel on Roschman Ave. About 20 minutes away from our destination, I called C.B. to see if we could stay the night. From Google Earth we could see that they had Bus/RV parking lanes.

I missed the Ohio sign so the above will have to suffice and prove
we were in the state

I tried all day, at roundabouts and curves to get a picture
of the Redwood behind us
Finally! Success!

We were asked to check in with the Manager upon arrival and perhaps enjoy a meal. That was our plan! We were prepared to go to the Sam’s Club or Walmart, all in the same block, if necessary. Wouldn’t you know, we needed a third burp. When we pulled into the lot at 4:10, the rain started again. Bob got pulled in and we went around the lot to pull in behind him. By the time Bill needed help to back in, the rain was driving and heavy. I was soaked in seconds.

Not a very good advertisement but I barely caught the sign as we turned

Bill ran in and checked in with the Manager. With our jacks down, I put the slides out and we checked cupboards to see what, if anything, got banged around. We were both surprised to discover that not much was topsy turvy, at least nothing out of the ordinary. Phew! We dodged a bullet there because those roads were horrible! I made us each a cup of tea and then walked back to see if Jo-Anne and Bob minded a bit of company before dinner.

And the rains came just in time - LOL

Higgins was very excited to see us and actually sat with us on the recliners for a nice little cuddle and back scratch. He got the scratches; Bill and I stole the cuddles. We agreed to meet in a few minutes and all walked across the lot into the restaurant. There was a line up but you can’t tell because while waiting you wander their jam-packed store. Lots of fun, interesting things to see and buy if you were so inclined. We weren’t. I spent the time looking at the greeting cards, which is just something I like to do.

I thought I might see a rainbow but didn't

Our spot for the night

My dinner - still too much food and I couldn't eat it all

We had a great meal, very filling. I had chicken and dumplings, the smaller meal, mashed potatoes, turnip greens and a biscuit. I was thinking beet greens and didn’t like the turnip greens but there was still too much food so didn’t need them. No box came home with me as I’d had enough carbs today to last me a week or more. We were all stuffed as we walked back to our rv’s. The wind was cold and I still felt chilled from the rain shower I got earlier.

Our first night and our first dinner together

This will be an early night; I can hardly keep my eyes open to finish this post. We had a great day and surpassed the little jiggles in our travels. I hope you managed to find a warm spot, perhaps with sun and got through your day as well.

Good night from Lima, Ohio everyone!

Thank you for stopping in!