Good Early Morning from Illinois!!!

My first day started about 230p....Susan raced me to the pick-up destination as I finished my work day and had a conf call. Thanks to me, we missed our exit, which cost us a few miles, but once corrected we were good to go. The town of Decatur, IN is very small.....but they do seem to be bustling with RV manufacturing and where they make m'....they have to stock m'...so Super Wal-Mart was close by.
For those just joining my adventure, I will back up a little. I am doing an RV relocation for Apollo RV, from their factory in Decatur, IN to Denver, CO. I'm in a Class-C (cab-over), 25', self contained vehicle. This is not exactly what I plan to live in...but it will (has already) given me some great experience on the open road.
They pay for the gas...give me $200 for misc expenses, give me bedding, towels, camp chair for free...so what's there to think about.....GO!! So I did.

My home for a week next to Susan's mini.....

Now...back to my first day/night. Eric...the guy waiting on me to pick up was very nice but anxious to get the walk-thru done...so, I've already discovered a few things we didn't go over, but that's ok, I'll call the help number or figure them out. We went over the inside, outside and paper-work in 1hr....Susan hung with me, she's awesome. I'll miss you!!
I decided to forgo the Wal-Mart stop for putting miles behind me while I had daylight. I hooked up my Rand McNally GPS and took off....nothing to it. It's like a big car. It's gas, not diesel, and drives very easily. I'm VERY glad I've already taken one driving course...many things came back to mind...watch the TAIL SWING....in this rig is not too bad....my rig will be 40' plus my Jeep....but this still gives me a feel for it all.

I put about 300 mi behind me, and it was really easy. When I crossed into IL I gained an hour...so that was cool. As it was getting dark it was time to be done for today....so I exited where I saw a Pilot gas station and asked if they had an outdoor water spigot...I needed some water in my tank...I was also hunting a Wal-Mart...time for some groceries....as always, God lead me to the right place....the next exit had everything I was told...awesome. I stopped at the Flying J...got water and then went about .5 mi and found a Super Wal-Mart...woohoo.....life was good. I've learned Flying J's are very RV friendly..they had 3 lanes where u could buy gas, dump your tanks and take on water all at this one lane....WOW....one-stop shop and heaven for an RV'er. There was a guy next to me pulling a travel-trailor...and he was doing all that...we laughed that this was better than a Wal-Mart. I was just finishing taking on water and was about to put my hose away, when he said..."oh that's yours"...I said..."yep"...he said , "oh, I thought there would be one here...I don't have one, can I borrow yours to fill up"...I said,,"sure"...so we chatted as his tank filled....this was his maiden voyage...he's headed to St. Louis to a race and didn't think he'd need a hose since he wouldn't have any hook-ups where he's going.....Rookie.....he will learn. I know I have LOTS to learn...but I've thankfully gotten a few things under my belt!! So, down the road to WalMart...I parked way out, but not too many folks anyway. I go get the shopping done and bring it all back to the rig to put up. I hesitantly decided to pay the $5/day unlim use for the generator when I picked it up....now I"m glad....turned that baby on...had lights, and the water pump would now work...cause I had water....woohoo...life was looking good.
I got it all put up, and I finally put away my clothes...I do have one slide, but believe it or not, there is parking lot etiquette and not putting down leveling jacks, or slides or awnings out are part of that...so, I was ok to get around without it. This rig is BRAND NEW...had 10mi on it when I picked it up....all the kitchen stuff had to be unwrapped....the sheets and towels are new...which means never washed!! That's nice....but I was a bit hesitant to have to sleep on new, maybe scratchy sheets....but ya know, it was just fine. Seems if you are tired enough..it don't matter!!!! I got the bed made up...which is a challenge...it IS NOT a walk around..it is in a corner...but I got r' done and climbed in. Then I remembered I didn't put the parking brake on, prob not a big deal but since they asked you to when u park I got up and did it, but when I sat down in the drivers seat I decided I didn't like where I was parked at the end of a parking aisle....so in my PJ's...I moved to a diff spot in the parking lot....more in the middle of all the truckers...so if some nut came ripping thru the parking lot, they would hit them first!!! OK...so I like my spot better...and for the first time in my life, I slept with truckers!!!! Probably, won't be my last time....but it worked beautifully. I was hummed to sleep by the sound of those 18-wheelers they never turn off. I'd seen a cop patroling the lot, so I really felt just fine...and as we in RV world say...it was FREE!!! Free is good. I have a campground booked for Mon-Thur at $40/nite with FULL hook-ups....yikes, that's really high....but since I'm not really paying it...I did it. For Sun nite I'm staying in this campgrounds over-flow lot...no hook-ups, for $10....so all is well. But for Fri and Sat nites...I figured I'd wing it....and so far that has been just fine. I found out last nite I can stay for free at the Flying J...so maybe I'll try that out tonite!!! My first RV solo nites and I'm in parking lots....TOO FUNNY!!! But they are good learning ground. Teaches you what your rig can really do w/o hook-ups.
Mom...this generator is almost as loud as the one on the Born Free and I can still hear you guys saying "turn the water pump off"....so...all these yrs later, that has proven to be good learning.

What have I learned:

1. I have a love/hate with truckers.....they cause me some sway when they pass, but they are good to follow and quick to let me know when I can get back in a lane.
2. Rest stops are my friends.....big rig friendly and very nice...gives me a few min to walk and saves the holding tanks.
3. Class-C gas rigs are very noisey on the road.....OMG!! I've driven several rigs like I want and they are very quiet...as is their generator...so I'm certainly not in a cadillac....but that's ok....this was meant to give me exp and will make me appreciate my rig even more.
4. Flying J's are the BOMB.....they have it all...including lots of turn space...HUGE parking lots....LOVE THEM.
5. Sleeping with truckers ain't all bad.....and it's free!!
6. Love my new Verizon hot spot....works like a champ. I got it a week ago to try it and see if I can use it for work and personal...so far...so good!

What have I seen:
Lots of flat and fields of stuff...not sure what.
A gorgeouse sunset, and moon rise.....was beuatiful.
Some cool trees and blooming flowers...spring/summer have arived. But it is cool this morning.
Some cool windmills and old barns....Deb, you would be going picture crazy.

Time to hit the road...now that I have "stuff" in here I wonder what new noises I will hear today as it all shifts around!!! Wonder what I will see today and how much it will change as I head west.....the mountains will come into site by tomorrow for sure, maybe today.

I'm out.....time to put some miles behind me!!!