Crossing the Border, Settling at a Suggested Stop

 Harrah's Hoosier Casino

On Saturday, Oct. 18th we were both awake at 6 thinking about getting started. It didn't take long and by 7:20 we were pulling out of Can Am's lot. Early bird gets the worm - or so we thought. It was smooth sailing on a mild morning in London and through to Windsor. The clouds cleared out and it was a lovely day.

We were just a silhouette in the
parking lot with the moon overhead.

We arrived at the Ambassador Bridge at Windsor/Detroit and were directed into a Car/RV line up. There were 7 car lines and ours. We were behind a bus full of, what we soon found out, young people. 

As we traveled west on the 401,
the clouds moved out.

The line was already very slow, for some reason, but we were in no hurry. Good thing, the early bird theory didn't work today, we were almost an hour in line. Once it was our turn, it was just like any other time we've crossed into the U.S. Easy peasey and we were on our way.

And in our back windows,
I captured some of the sunrise.

Bill had our route planned and after talking to Ken last night, we have a new overnight destination to go to. We are not Harvest Host members so find ourselves stopping at the old familiar Walmarts. That gets tired quickly, unless we need to shop so a new place was welcome.

More clouds ahead but we were
basked in sunshine most of the day.

It is always a concern of 'can we stay?, can we find a spot easily enough if we stop early?, will it be noisy? is it close to a highway?, is there a place to eat nearby?' So, those questions can get on your nerves and we've experienced 'no' in more than one case.

The Gordie Howe bridge is not slated
to be finished until early 2026,
so we followed the usual road to
the Ambassador Bridge over the St. Clair River.

We made one stop for diesel at a Petro in Napoleon, OH around noon. It was a Mudflap station, which is an app Bill has on his phone to get us a discount. We can't use it at home, but get some great deals here in the states. It was priced at $3.69/gallon and with his app, he paid $3.14/gallon. 😉

I caught the Ohio sign, hard to miss,
but missed the Welcome to Indiana sign.

Since we were there and had our egg sandwiches made, we ate before moving on. Gibbs enjoyed running around (well, walking nose to the ground) the nice sized dog park. It is a stop we'll try and remember. 

Our fuel and lunch stop
and Gibbs got some new smells
in the dog park.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, which is perfect, and we arrived at our destination around 3. Harrah's Hoosier Park Casino is in Anderson, IN, on the outskirts of town so nice and quiet. We chose the spot recommended, by the pond, across the lot from the casino. Very nice! (note to selves)

I commented to Bill before we entered the
U.S. that I hadn't seen any corn since leaving London.
So, this picture shows they were ahead of us,
harvesting already.

When I was opening things up, the day turned from great to 'oh crap!'. The clothing bar in the closet had pulled out of the ceiling and walls and my clothes were a shambles. I knew what Bill was going to say so just said 'we knew it would happen eventually'.

No, not me, but you get the picture.

Yes, I carry too many clothes but ........well, there is no but, I carry too many clothes. Other than getting rid of many, where would I keep them? So, in a bit of a fit of embarassment and biting back tears, I did a frenzy cleaning. I got rid of things I hadn't worn either all year or longer and filled a large garbage bag.

Bill refused to change our faded
happy face ball until we were
leaving on our trip.
He guides our journey too!

Bill suggested I wait until we get to Quartzsite and go through them again because he knew I was tossing quite wildly. I won't go through them though. They made it to the bag........other than the closet now being disorganized, I'll survive with what I have left. It is still quite a lot, mind you, I'm not crazy! 😅

The spot at the casino was exactly
as described, including the huge pothole,
marked clearly with a traffic cone.

Bill felt bad, I know, but he has been telling me for many years that 'one day that bar will crash'. So, moving on, I poured myself the last glass of Girl's Night Out wine from Pat and felt better. Out of sight, out of mind, right? 

We're not the only ones heading south

We decided to go to the casino for supper so around 5 pm, we walked over. It was a hike but the fresh air was nice. It is quite windy but so lovely in the 85F/29C with all the windows open. We had to show ID inside, to prove we were over 21, hahahaha, and went to look for a restaurant.

Everything, except the steakhouse upstairs, was order at a counter and go sit in a community dining area. That's fine but I wasn't looking for another burger meal, nor was Bill. Easy enough, we left for 'home' to have chili and got caught in rain. Good we left when we did, it only got heavier! 

Let's talk about Gibbs for a minute. He was a different traveler today. We gave him a Gravol chewable tablet this morning, and put his bark collar on. Yesterday, it didn't work until later in the trip.  

Who is this little guy?
He didn't sleep or put his head down
completely, but no whining, no barking and
no panting. 💕

Today, from minute one, there was no sound. No panting, nothing. He actually layed down (no sleeping) for most of the day! At the border crossing, which I was concerned about, he barked once, I pressed the collar remote and he stopped. 💘

He got a lot of praises and a few treats throughout the day and we are very proud. The drive was so much less stressful, calm and relaxing. The chili was good but with rain continuing through the evening and overnight hours, I heated it on the stove instead of using our batteries. It was good!

I'm glad I planned ahead and
had chili made.

Bill did the dishes while I worked on this and then he worked on our route for tomorrow. 

Before the rains
There were definitely puddles by the time
I finished this blog.
Good night!

Thank you for checking us out and traveling along with us. You can see our route by reading Bill's blog, he's updating it now.