After the storm

We awoke Friday to heavily overcast skies.  We mosied over to the Cracker Barrel for a quick breakfast.  Our goal for Friday was Iowa City....there is a nice Walmart there, and you know we cannot pass up a nice Walmart parking lot!


It was nice to have early overcast skies.....nice to drive in.  Our interim goal this day was to "pay the rent"...it was time to feed the beast as the needle had dipped slightly below 1/4 full.  We also needed to empty our black tank, and take on fresh water, so Flying J in LaSalle, IL fit the ticket perfectly.  At the RV island you can fuel, dump your tank, take on fresh water and even get propane!  With our Flying J loyalty card we got $3.94/gallon.  Fueling, dumping our tank and taking on water was the easy part.  I went into pay with my check card and it was declined.  I knew I had plenty of money in my account, so I called my bank.  They informed me that I indeed had plenty of money, but I had lost my card, and they had put a block on it....WHAT?  I had used it that morning to get $100 out of an ATM, and paid for breakfast, and in fact, had my card right there in my hand.  When did they think I lost it?  The nice young lady couldn't tell me, but the reality was that my card was no longer good do to some error on their end, and it could not be reactivated.  BUT, they said my wife's card was still good, and she could use hers to pay.  So, Elaine walks in to pay...within a few minutes she returns saying her card had been declined.  Now I'm close to a rare use of profanity....I get on the phone again with my bank, and they say the system suspended her card because it was being used a long way from home for a large purchase......I said "I know, I just called you and told you we were going to use it for a large purchase".  So, now I am transferred to the fraud department who asks me a lot questions about where I am....I tell them we have been traveling for over three months and have each been using our cards in state after state without problem until today.  At any rate, they finally release the suspension on Elaine's card and we pay our bill.  In the mean time I am now awaiting the arrival of a new bank card, so Elaine is the "money man" now....haha!  

 Over the Mississippi

 Goodbye Mississippi until September

The drive across I-80 was completely pleasant.....not much to tell....the interstate is very flat, and straight across the plains.  All I have to do is set the cruise control and hang on to the steering wheel, and, maybe sing along to 50's music.....Elaine says what I do is not remotely close to "singing", but I enjoy myself, so as long as no small animals are being harmed I'll continue to make my "beautiful noise"...haha!  We crossed the Mississippi River around 2pm, and are now west of the Mississippi for the first time since early March.


We arrived in Iowa City around 4:45pm and found a nice quiet corner of the Walmart parking lot to park in for the night.....another nice day in the life!


Thanks for stopping by!