We decided to spend our 1st night at WalMart, N.E., Cedar Rapids, for a trial run! It was a cold and very windy night, and our hot water was not working. Because it was so windy, Joe thought the pilot light was being blown out by the wind – solution – turn RV around, on opposite side of wind. But then we kept smelling gas when Joe re lite the pilot light. Joe called our friend Jim, who has been helping Joe with RV problems because he had a RV for years. Jim told us it sounded like the thermal coupler might need to be replaced. We thought, “ Great it will take a week just to get the part”. Soon after that we ran out of water. Lesson #1 – When the water is low or about out, the water heater won’t stay lite and turns off.
Day 2 – Oct 23,08 Thur. – We needed to get to a park to get some water and to take a dump. Pardon the expression, but that is what it is called. We still needed to get organized and put some thing in storage, so we stayed at Lazy Acres in Urbana Ia. That is where our storage unit is because all the other storage places were full due to the floods in Cedar Rapids area. It was rainy, cold, and a windy day. The first day for Joe to try to hook up the RV and to dump all waste. He kept coming in trying to warm up his freezing wet hands. What a way to start his first try at hooking up electric, water and sewer. When he was hooking up the sewer hose to the sewer tank, he open the cap and all of the sudden poop started coming out, and spattered on his hands, he quickly capped it up again. Looking at it, the shut off valve was shut, so he figured, some poop must have gotten between the cap and shut off valve somehow. So he opened it again a quickly stepped back, and this time no poop, so he proceeded to hook up the emptying tube. Karen, Yes, we are camping- inside joke, for all who don’t understand that last statement.
Day 3 – Oct 24,08 Fri. – One more night at Urbana Ia. I went into Cedar Rapids, to see Tiffany, Blake, Lennox, and Mom for the last time untill who knows when, and say goodbye. Joe stayed back at the RV to dink around, till I got back that night. It was another cold, rainy and windy day.
Day 4 – Oct. 25,08 Sat. We left Urbana. Ia, at 11:45. It was very windy and Joe had to struggle to keep the RV on the road. I called a friend, Lauri, I have known since grade school. She lives in Galesberg, Ill. And we were going to go threw her town today. She was in Peoria shopping with her husband, Lou. Because Peoria Ill. was on our route, we stopped and meet them at the Old Chicago Restaurant. We stayed and visited with them for about a hour. I had not seen the 2 of them for 5 years, so it was great to see them and catch up on family stories. We were going to stay at a truck stop in Edwards, Ill, but it was too small. So we went father down the road to Morton trucking Center, in Morton Ill. It was our 1st overnight stay at a truck stop. We were the only RV amongst 30 semi trucks. It was pretty noisy, with semi’s coming and going all night, but heck it was free. The next morning, we walked across the street to WalMart to get some groceries and supplies, and then headed down the road again.