The Sun Rose as We Pulled Out

Walmart, Sikeston, Missouri

On Monday, Oct. 24^th we were awake by 6:30 and got up at 7. We had cereal, Gibbs ate a bit of his breakfast and were saying goodbye to the park at 8:20 am. The sun rose behind us which helped me get my directional compass aligned. The built in one. 😉

Packing up and Gibbs is concerned
The sun rises behind us as we pull out

Other than a few low hanging branches, which would be my only complaint this time, this is a great Coast to Coast park. We pay $10/night by a point system and with C to C we can bring other rv’ers in with us. None of our other memberships, which we are no longer ‘indebted’ to, allow us to do that. We made the right choice in cancelling ROD and AOR.

Taking the 465 bypass around Indianapolis
Catching I-70W

Getting on the road early hopefully will keep us ahead of some of the commuters and we have a straight stretch to Dayton, Ohio on I-75S where we’ll pick up I-70W for the remainder of our day. That’s the plan anyway! Gibbs is already settled into his bed without a peep although he gets quite worried with the preparation until Dad takes him out. ♥

He often sleeps with his back to us - goofy little bum

Traveling past the town of New Paris, IN just before 10, I had to send our friend, my birthday buddy, Kenny, a good morning wave. We aren’t stopping this year so will miss seeing him. ☹ I must say, I don’t know if there is another direct route through Indiana but I-70W in this state is terrible for pulling a rig. I’m sure things will be mighty shook up inside the Suite, even with all our careful packing up.

Stopped at a busy rest area around 11:30
Pretty but rough drive out
Again, the cloud gives us direction?

By the time we approached Wayne, IN, the highway improved with the exception of the small bridges, of which there were plenty. Anyway, we’ll need to try and remember this section of about 20 miles to avoid it. We dealt with the typical construction and in Indianapolis, there was no change in that. Traffic moved quickly and easily as we caught the I-465S around the busy city. These bypasses are a great help!

Familiar views

Pretty countryside
This is Rend Lake, a touristy area

5 miles after being back on I-70W, we stopped at a Rest Area. Time for a leg stretch. We didn’t hang around for lunch, it was very busy at 11:30, but did have our egg salad buns as soon as we got onto the interstate. We have a destination in mind for the night but we’ve been rethinking that. We’ll probably be there too early to stop after all.

Cute!

At 12:30 we entered Illinois and although there was no welcome sign for a picture, we gained our first hour. My sister, Donna, back home, LOVES keeping up with all of the time changes. Now, THAT is sarcasm. 😊 We pulled off at Casey, IL for fuel, the price was the best we’ve seen yet at a Roady’s, $5.39/gal. We’ll take it! As it turned out, we were right. We were at Effingham, IL at 1 pm after gaining the hour so just carried on.

Traveling on I-57W through Benton, IL
Quite a story of George Harrison visiting his sister in this town
at the age of 20 - before he had any hit records
and where no one knew him - yet
This mural was made by a local in 2017

I found a couple of Walmart Superstores along I-57S but until I knew how far Bill wanted to drive, it was hard to make a choice. Finally, we both decided on Sikeston, MO and arrived there at 4:30 pm. We easily pulled into a spot along the curb and before opening up completely, Bill walked in to confirm that we were allowed to stay. My GPS said it was okay but it is in need of an update so didn’t want to count solely on that.

Crossing the mighty Mississippi River
just past Marion, IL

We need groceries so I made a quick list and we walked in before supper to stock up on a few things. Because I felt hot, tired and lazy, I talked Bill into walking across the lot to the China Buffet/Mongolian Grill for supper. It’s always so much food but we needn’t have worried that we wouldn’t eat enough for the cost. It was a mere $20 for the two of us! Lots of choices, many things to try and many things to enjoy. We’re stuffed!

Sikeston, MO is at the end of I-57
where it becomes US-60
Nice accessibility for RV parking
and obliging Managerial staff

The evening was quiet. I skipped cooking eggs tonight since we are on solar only so will make up sandwiches in the morning. I wrote a blog and Bill may have done the same. I know he updated his map for his records. It will be another early night I’m sure, after 9 hours on the road. My sweetie did awesome today! ♥

It was a good day and evening
I was in bed at 8:30 Central Time
Good night!

Thank you for the visit.