Chillin' with Patsy: Back on Track or Should I Say FORWARD on Track!

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Back on Track or Should I Say FORWARD on Track!

Sam's Club, Columbia, MO

On Wednesday, Oct. 25^th we woke up just before 6 when Gibbs had to go out. Another good sleep, back in our own bed. Don’t take things for granted! Learn to improvise! Go with the flow! These are the lessons we've re-learned from this experience. The bedroom windows were open all night and I loved sleeping with that fresh air and arms and/or legs out from under the duvet again. 😊

Heading out Wednesday morning

Bill planned our route last night and Gibbs and I went up to bed early to watch a couple of episodes of Justified. Yes, we had access to our StarLink dish, which was also locked up in the bedroom for 2 nights. We were packed up and dumped by 8 and pulling out under cloudy, rainy skies. It was mild though so we were in shorts. 57F/14C. Gibbs settled down in his bed immediately. ♥

He didn't stay this way, did a lot of panting today but
no whining or barking at least. A pretty good little rider.

My Sweeties

The rain stopped after about 10 minutes and it was dry for the next part of our journey. Two hours later, on US-31S we pulled off to a Love’s. Not for fuel, their prices are too high and we didn’t need any yet, but for a break.

We’re trying out our new 5-cup/3 mug thermos today so Bill poured himself one and we visited the facilities and had a snack bar. Gibbs needed to piddle and had a good long drink of water.

So far, so good.

The highway is good with a few spots of construction but not disrupting in any way to our travels. We caught the bypass I-465-W around the top of Indianapolis for a change, to I-465S and then onto I-70W where the interstate was rough for a short period. Bill and I were pleased that the update we purchased for the truck's gps is paying for itself. Before, it never included the bypasses and now they are popping up for us. Bonus! I don't have to search on my phone or laptop anymore for those.

I hate selfies from so close but here we are!

Still some pretty views
even from the Interstate

We are fortunate to be travelling west today

We’ve heard from our friends Ken & Kim, who stayed last night in Fort Wayne, IN, a bit ahead of where we were. Glad that they are out on the road again and we’ll be sure to connect further south. The temperature has risen to 66F/17C and the sun is presently charging our panels. 😊

Two hours later, a fuel break at a Marathon in Terre Haute where diesel was $4.29/gal. before driving a bit further for a place to have lunch. It was after we crossed into Illinois that we found the Cumberland Road Rest Area/Information Centre. Our egg sandwiches were good and after some fresh air walkabouts, we were back on the road. The good news is that we gained an hour so may travel further than originally planned. We’ll see.

We see at least one of these large crosses
each year.

One day we'll go south to Memphis
again, but not this year.

At the last rest area, Gibbs and I found
this huge leaf!

As it turned out, we went an hour further than the Walmart in Warrenton, MO and stopped at Sam’s Club in Columbia, MO. Lots of parking way back from everyone else. We'd made a couple more stops than we normally would just so Bill could get a second wind, some fresh air (and Gibbs and I appreciate the walk around too!)and a snack.

Missouri State Line
right in the middle of the Mississippi River

You just can't get a picture of her spanse

Catching the I-270W around St. Louis was the biggest challenge but this bypass took us around the top end as opposed to the bottom, our normal route. It was busy, no difficulties at all, staying in the centre lanes unless we had to turn off.

We're in Missouri and we
are welcome!

It was 45 minutes from this sign to the JCT of US-64
on the west side,
which was plenty long to deal with the traffic.

We arrived at 5:00 pm Central time. Bill checked in, paid our membership for another year and we were done for the night.

It seemed to go on and on forever
and it wasn't even rush hour.

For the last half hour, he finally relaxed again
until we reached our destination.

A spot for the night.
Sam's closes at 8 so it will be quiet.

This was really a great day. We came through some rain, off and on, some sun, off and on, some construction and some busy traffic, off and on. I do believe we’ve made up some time, that of which we lost on Monday. We’ll had chili, french bread and apple crisp for supper and will likely call it a night fairly early. I made tomorrow's sandwiches before finishing this post.😊 Bill did a lot of driving, his blog will tally up the miles for our records.