Friday, August 14, 2015

1800, Fri, 081415. Springfield, Illinois.

To while away some time we started out the day with a ride on a horse drawn trolley in Old Town Wilmington. We got some bits of history and enjoyed the clip clop of the horses feet. On the way home we dropped by the van to extract the battery so we could give it a full charge and a few more odds and ends.
We waited some more for the van and actually got the word from the fix it place in the afternoon just as we were all settling down for a little rest, she was ready to go. Wow, we were all awake then, off we went to pick her up. They had dropped the tank and changed out the fuel pump just as they said they would, ran it around town, let it run for an hour, then gave it a clean bill of health. We picked her up and gave her a run around the neighborhood ourselves and found she ran just like before.
After a game of Chicken Foot with Ken and Roberta and finding one of the amazing World Cup Sail Races from San Francisco we called it a day, packed up our stuff and figuring on an early morning get away decided to sleep in Tess out in the driveway.
Next morning we got up early and hit the road with a stop off at Starbucks before the interstate. Then on the road. I was pushing along at about 72 mph and she slipped into coast mode and lost power. I could still keep her going about 65 but she just wouldn't power away at all. It was flat there so not too much of a problem but I dreaded the hills we were to face later in the day knowing she would be pulling them at about 50 mph. We stopped at a rest stop then found that Tess was all full of energy and off we went again, but after a bit, the same thing. She just seemed to poop out. I finally got smart and found that if I kept her at 65 she ran fine and even the dashlight went out after awhile. I think she will run fine now after another tank of fuel but I'm keeping her under 65 and playing it easy. Chicken!!!
When we filled up I noticed something. From California, all the way across the states, the diesel pump was green, with a green handle. Well, I pulled up to the pump in North Carolina and found the green pump was for gasoline and the yellow was the diesel. In my tired state the other day I must not have noticed the difference. Still no excuse, but at least I'm not completely crazy, ha.
We stayed the night at our first Walmart. We either slept well or it was pretty quiet all night. Can't beat the price and we were up at 4:30 and on the road by 5:00. I am declaring Indiana to have the worst roads in the country with lots of inverted speed bumps all down the road, poor Tess. As we were approaching Indianapolis, Sue suggested a stop at the speedway. So a slight detour and we visited the Brickyard. They have a great museum with a huge collection of Indy cars and motorcycles. Sue let me take the grounds tour which was fascinating. Great side trip! We are now in Illinois at the home of Lincoln. We visited his museum then headed over tot he house he and Mary lived in then out to the other end of town to his tomb and huge obelisk. Learned a lot about Ole Abe. We are now at a KOA outside town and ready for a rest after so many miles.....more later..