Leaving Indiana Again

Monday, August 1 - No one was moving too early this morning, but we finally convened in the house at the kitchen table to discuss our get-out-of-town strategy.  Jim and Dixie called and Cathy put them on the speaker phone, so we got to visit with them, and Cathy got out the peach pie - that was breakfast.  Joe is back to his window-washing ways, as Step 1 to get on the road again.

The the saga began of how to get this big old RV out of this little old alley.  First, a little landscaping was necessary.

Then we all took our positions, and Joe began pulling forward, backing up, etc.  We had to watch front, back, and overhead, so it took all of us.  But none of us ever questioned Joe's ability to get the job done.

We did put a little ding in the roof over their window, when our ladder rack scraped under it.  No one was watching on that corner, and I didn't get him stopped quick enough.  I told Joe M. that maybe he could turn it as tornado damage -- you know, Joe the Tornado was here. 

But he finally was able to pull forward, then back into the other part of the alley, to get turned to pull out.  Joe M. was the spotter on this part.

The last part of the mission was to pull between the two cars parked behind the shop next to the bank, but Joe didn't think he could make that, so Cathy went in and got the keys from the beauty shop operator to move her car.  From then on, it was a piece of cake, so we said our goodbyes and hit the road.

We left Bloomington about 10:45 and headed back to Vincennes to pick up Hwy. 50.  We hit Vincennes about 12:30 so we found a place for lunch, then crossed the river into Illinois about 1:00 p.m., leaving Indiana for the second time this summer.  But, believe it or not, there's still lots of Indiana we want to explore, in addition to seeing family (covered bridges, Nashville, fishing and camping at some of the state parks), so we will probably be back here in the RV next year -- maybe in the fall when the leaves are turning.

We drove across Illinois, between the green corn fields.  We changed time zones today, and enjoyed the pretty drive.  We stopped in Flora at a Walmart to restock on groceries, and arrived in East St. Louis about 4:30.  I had found a casino/campground, and amazingly Joe stopped there!  It was 98 degrees here, a drive of 224 miles.  But we are finally heading WEST!  We are right across the river from the arch, and this is a really nice (and secure) campground.  It has a nice laundry, so as soon as we got into our campsite, I gathered up the laundry and got that taken care of.

We headed into St. Louis for White Castles for dinner, but Joe didn't feel too secure in that neighborhood, so we got them "to go," and ate them in the car.  Then we went into the casino, smelling like onions (especially since I was wearing a lot of them).  We drove right past the St. Louis Rams stadium, so we got to see where they play.

We spent a couple hours at the casino, then settled in for the night.  We are right next to a railroad track (of course), but it didn't bother us too much once we got to sleep.  We have our sights set on Branson, Missouri tomorrow -- another checkmark on my bucket list.  But I think it's supposed to be 102 degrees there (I guess it will feel like Arizona).  They just said on TV that today is supposed to be the hottest day of the year -- yeah!