We decided to get the truck serviced before we headed out on the road again as it has over 100,000 miles on it and has never had any kind of tune-up. Fortunately or unfortunately for our bank account, they found some things wrong that needed fixing that we weren't aware of, so it took a couple of days to get everything done. We're glad to get the things fixed now, sure beats breaking down on the road, but we felt like we were missing a limb not having the truck right outside the Airstream.
We left Illinois Beach for our leisurely trip back to Texas late on Saturday morning because the $1600 (!!) worth of work had left us with a squealing belt. The truck had sounded good when we drove it home on Thursday, but on the way to the VA Friday morning for Jeff's last Dr. visits, the belt started making a noise. We took it in after Jeff finished up at the VA Friday afternoon. They adjusted the belt, and it was fine until Friday evening when it began making the same noise,only louder. So Saturday morning, we're
up early at the dealership. This time, they replaced the belt and it has been fine so far.
Jeff's visits to the Dr. were good. His endocrinologist did not get him an insulin pump this time, but plans to when we return to the area next year. His eyes were good enough that the Dr. prescribed new glasses for him, and we are now clear to head for Texas.
Since we got away so late, we thought we would just drive as far as Paul Wolff and stay just one night. But Paul Wolff was full to the brim - not even one of the uneven spaces was open. So we said, let's drive a little further. We found a 4-H campground in Pontiac, Illinois about 100 miles further which was not too far off the road and pulled in there Saturday evening. I did a little research on the internet and found that it has a Route 66 Museum
 The Mother Road |
There is a great courthouse in the square
 Great Courthouse |
 Old Railsplitter |
. I had wondered why the entire right side of Pontiac's web page had all these bridge graphics on it. We found out that the river there is spanned by what they call "Swinging Bridges" They are small suspension bridges, and if you can check out the video, you can can see how they really do swing when you walk across them.
We had a good time driving around the town, saw some really great old houses, and ate at a local restaurant called "Baby Bull's". They have lots of different things, but we opted for the special Greek Chicken and Greek pork chops which were really good, but HUGE portions. I had a half chicken and Jeff had 3 pork chops plus bread, rice, potatoes, salad etc. Great place to eat and we got lunch and supper out of it.
Today, Oct. 8th, we got everything ready to travel except for hitching,and drove into town to see the museums. The War Museum was really great.
 Veteran at the War Museum |
After that, we hit the road again. Springfield tonight!
