INDY 500

Our night at the Cracker Barrel in Cambridge, OH was pleasant....in spite of being quite near the Interstate we did not hear too much sound.....the Cracker Barrel building was kind of shielding us from the noise I guess.  We went in to have breakfast around 7:30.  One nice thing about this restaurant is that they will prepare a "coffee to go" for you at no extra charge.  Probably the first time in months and months I haven't had the responsibility of making coffee.

The air was pleasantly warm as we exited Cracker Barrel to walk back to our coach, even if the skies were slightly cloudy.  Probably the first time in a long time I've walked to a restaurant in flip flops, t-shirt and shorts....not since Cedar Key I think.

Sunday we traveled around 185 miles.....one of our longer travel days in some time.  We got away from our night stop around 9 am.  The I-70 gets very straight and flat in Ohio, and what a nice change.  I just set cruise control and held on to the steering wheel as the miles melted away.   We came to a rest stop at around the 55 mile mark and decided to stop and take a walk.  We had to walk 4, or 5 laps around the rest stop, but managed to log just over a mile of walking.

At about the 120 mile mark of the day (65 miles to go) we pulled into another rest stop, had some lunch, and then took another mile walk.  By the time we were ready to leave this rest stop it was around 1, so we figured we would be at our destination, another Cracker Barrel just inside the Indiana Border in Richmond, around 2:15.  With about 40 miles to go it began to rain.....we were expecting rain, but not until after 4, which is why we got an early start.  Oh well......there goes the Jello shaking again!  It wasn't a hard rain, and the traffic was very light so we just plugged ahead arriving about a quarter after 2.  The parking lot in front was packed, but we found a nice spot in back and quickly settled in for the rest of the day.

We both spent time reading.....I've been doing a lot of that lately, and napping...I've always done a lot of that....:D  I managed to finish the Zane Grey book I was reading......they all lived happily ever after.  It's funny how invested you can get in a book isn't it?

TLE and I were talking yesterday about how it seems we have always been traveling, and changing our view.  It's funny how your perception can conflict with reality.  We have been married 41+ years, but only living full time in our Newell for 27 months now, and just traveling for a little over 15 months, however, it feels like we have always been doing this.  Our old sticks and bricks life seems so distant.....like a lifetime ago.  We are madly in love with our new life, and something I didn't think was possible.....more madly in love with each other than when we started.  We joke, kid and flirt with each other all day long...almost like when we were teenagers.  I am seeing my wife through new eyes, and appreciating who she is much more than before we left on this journey.  It's amazing how your perspective of someone can change when all the clutter of the sticks and bricks, work a day  life is stripped away....you can just think and appreciate without distraction.  TLE makes my life worth getting up to live each day, and I hope, in some small measure, I am able to make her life feel the same way, too.

I hope I haven't made anyone wince with such a personal, intimate observation, but I think it is important for folks out there thinking about living this lifestyle to know that living in a small space with your spouse, partner, or companion does not have to be a relationship killer.  If you approach it in the right frame of mind this lifestyle should actually enhance your relationship.  I know all relationships are quite complex, and everybody's situation is different, but one thing you must focus on if you want this lifestyle, is learning to live in a smaller space....in our case 200 square feet......with your spouse, partner, companion.

Cracker Barrel - Richmond, IN

Okay, enough of the mushy stuff.....I'm sitting here Monday morning composing this blog entry to the sound of rain on the roof.  Right after we arrived yesterday it stopped raining, but started again around 2 am, and has been raining steadily (not hard) since then.  The forecast is for rain the rest of today, so when we arrive in Indianapolis later today it will be in the rain most likely......certainly not optimal, but it is what it is.  

Looking forward to being plugged in again to alternating current for the next month.  Living off 12 volt power requires more awareness of electrical usage and a vigilance to be sure nothing electrical is on that doesn't need to be on.....after almost a month of that I am ready to just turn on what I want to turn on without thinking about "amp hours", and how much time it will take to put them back in the battery once I consume them.  The one thing we have learned from the last month is we can live off our house batteries for an extended time period even if the weather is not optimal for solar charging.

Thanks for stopping by!