The Adventure Continues – Early

New Paris, Indiana

It was just barely Monday, Nov. 8^th when we woke up. 12:15 am to be exact. 😊 We both felt rested and Bill asked Gibbs and I if we were ready to start the adventure. Yuppers! Let’s get this show on the road. We were packed up and pulling out of the lot at 1:30 and hopped on the 402 to Sarnia. Gibbs wondered, I’m sure, if we were nuts travelling in the dark but within minutes was curled up in his bed, back to sleep. ♥

Sorry for the blur but my camera doesn't
do well in the dark with signs

It was before I took these last two pictures that Bill said
"Where are the line ups?"

We pulled up to the border and we saw no other rv’s at all. The rumour mill had us quite prepared for lineups so this was refreshing. When we paid the toll of $20 (that’s an increase), the friendly attendant informed us that from 12 to 1, it was pretty steady with a split of travellers going to AZ and FL with a few for Mexico. Still no other rv’s just before the Bluewater Bridge. Two questions were asked; Covid papers and where we were going, that’s it. In less than 5 minutes we were in Port Huron, MI.

The point here (blurred again) is that we made it to Michigan

It felt weird not texting anyone, well other than Mike and Wanda since we figured they would be leaving CanAm around 2, but everyone was still sleeping! 😊 We put our next overnight stop into the gps and just drove. Naturally, the road was rough so we travelled in the inside lane as much as we could. Soon, it smoothed out and we were also through the inevitable construction. Yup, Michigan.

by now, most of you have seen this on my Facebook page
Seriously, no lines, we couldn't believe it 😀

At 4:30, we stopped at the first Rest Area near Owosso and it was pretty full. At 45F/7C, it felt brisk although calm. We parked along the curbside and caught a bit of shuteye. We are happy and breathing sighs of relief. ♥ 

A lot of overnighters here

These two or three deer caught my eye as I caught theirs
I was just walking into the washrooms

I think they were watching Gibbs with Bill

We pulled out of the rest area at 7:30 after Bill messaged our friend in New Paris, IN. We were getting hungry so pulled into a Speedway for fuel and then parked to have breakfast. All of us. I was mixed up with the time as it felt like lunchtime. LOL

I do like the Rest Areas on the journey
(when they're open)

We had a bowl of cereal, fed Gibbs and made a thermos of coffee to go. My feet were chilled as were my finger but once we got back in the truck at 8:30, I had warmed up from the furnace running in the Suite. Diesel was $3.69/gal so certainly up there but not as bad as Canadian pricing at least. Driving in the dark is something we’ve never done on our journey but the nice thing about it was the absence of traffic. Now, in the daylight, it feels good to see the scenery.

Daylight, the sun rises in the rearview

I'm sure driving with all the monotony of the rough roads
and construction pylons added to Bill's sleepiness

Being a good boy today again

We think we passed our friends from CanAm parked at a Rest Area on I69S/I96E, so Bill honked. Not sure if they noticed us. 😊 The sky was clear blue and the temperature creeping up to 51F/10C by 9 am. Gibbs is catching up on his sleep in the back it is nice and quiet on the drive. At our stop, I downloaded yesterday’s pictures so I could work on that posting while travelling. I’ll get caught up eventually.

When we stopped for a snooze,
I put my seat back and Gibbs reached up to me
"what's going on, Mom?"

It was just after 9:30 when the 'sleepys' set in so we pulled into the next Rest Area and had a 30-minute catnap. Gibbs gets confused when we put our seats back for a snooze. Huh? In a rest area though, it is not a great idea to open up slides unless there is all kinds of room. Transports too easily could clip them as they hurry in and out. Back on the road again at 10:15, rested for the last leg of today’s journey. The temperature was a lovely 56F, time to slip out of our jackets. 😊

This was a very large beautiful cemetery along the main highway
in Kalamazoo, MI

I know it is nice back home today too but the difference is that ours will stay and warm up from there. Sorry but it’s true. ♥ The reason we do this. I was working on my blog as we drove and lost connection at one point. That meant I had to go into my settings on the Samsung at just the Inappropriate time! I missed the Indiana state sign. ☹ However, we arrived in Middlebury, IN and I was soon looking at the building that housed Grand Design RV’s. We’ve been there!

Why are there shortages of rv's in our neck of the woods?
this was one lot of three that we saw filled with G.D.units

In this area, many of the rv’s that we and our friends have were made. Bill and I have toured the Grand Design, DRV (ours) factories and Airstream in Ohio. All different, how they’re made, all interesting. We followed our GPS in the truck and kept an eye on the Good Sam GPS that I have on my side window. They got to a point where they didn’t match each other so we stuck to Black Beauty’s and enjoyed the ride. Finding Kenny’s place, however, wasn’t as easy as all that.

Middlebury water tower

We kept going past it, not able to find his fire # at the road so called him for some specifics. Hah! We must thank him for making sure all the roads leading to his home are paved. 😊 County Roads that are easy to traverse just make for a much nicer ride. Soon after, we were in his lane, turned around and parked alongside his house with hydro/electric hookup. The sky was still mostly clear blue with a few light clouds and the temperature was a balmy 63F/18C.

some small towns are just so pretty
and well kept
Middlebury was one of them

When Bill opened up the Suite, he was met with a whole lot of jumble. We grumble each time we travel I-69 and swear we won’t do it again but this trip, we planned it into our route. It isn’t the only rough highway/Interstate but it has to be the worst. We did have one very long, fast, hard brake experience so I guess we just needed to test them! That could account for the non-breakable dishes in the cupboard bouncing out of the slots. 😊

We found Kenny's!

It was 12:30 when we came inside, all set up, and ate the lunch I’d packed this morning. Egg salad sandwiches, yum. Then it was time to spend some precious moments/minutes with Gibbs. He has been pretty good and he deserves some parent time. We all had snoozes, short walks around the property and Gibbs met their 2 kitty cats and old bull dog. The latter touched noses with him but had no interest. The cats, he just chases, which indicates he is pretty normal?

He has a lovely spot out in the country

Bill and I read our books for a while but couldn’t keep our eyes open for long. We haven’t seen Kenny or his wife but Bill went out with Gibbs after school and met two sons shooting hoops in the driveway. Kenny works late so not sure if we’ll see him tonight or in the morning. He and I share the same birthday, although I’m a few years (lots!!) ahead of him. ♥

Someone got creative with the birdhouse
Cute!

For supper, I reheated the last of our first container of chili and we had it on toast tonight. It was too thick last night, I tried to not make it too runny for Bill but we got the opposite effect. I added a can of Heinz brown beans and it was much better. I made our lunch sandwiches for tomorrow and informed Bill that by the time we get down south, I’ll be a real porker from all the bread that I’m eating and that isn’t usually in my diet. Oh well. C’est la vie for now.

My boys resting in the sunshine
No indoor heat required

We cleaned up dishes, and after posting this I’ll be hitting my book. We could try the antenna but we’ll see what Bill wants to do. I hope you have had a great day as we have. The unexpected surprises are really nice, we are so blessed. Being across the border is a huge relief as well as hearing that our youngest daughter has arrived with the two little ones in Alberta. They flew out this afternoon. We are proud Jess’s courage, taking this big step. Matt will drive tomorrow with their car, U-Haul and their belongings. His brother will travel with him which is great.

Tonight's simple supper
Good night!

Today is Bill's step-Mom's birthday, so Happy Birthday, Marilynne! We talked to her last night so passed on the best wishes then. ♥

Thank you for popping in! Your comments, support and concern are very much appreciated.