June 18, 2022
We started out early again and this time took the back roads through small towns and drove on country roads. I love going through the small towns and seeing the big Victorian houses on tree lined streets. It always reminds me of the towns from the movies Pollyanna or The Music Man and brings me back in time.
The drive was more relaxing than yesterday partly due to being on backroads and partly because traffic was light. Steve decided not to drive 55 mph anymore instead he kept it under 50 mph which is a good speed for this old car. The gas mileage is better too, since he put in the Mitchell overdrive we’re getting around 23 mpg. Gas prices were about the same as MN until we hit IL. Now we’re being charged $5.49+.
As we drove south through IL the scenery changed from rolling hills and turned to flat farmland where wheat, corn and other crops are growing. We did stop at one strange sight today. It was a windmill on the side of the road that had been donated to the town of Industry, in 1927.
The weather today was in the 70’s and low 80’s and it was perfect for riding without air conditioning, but we’ll see what the rest of the week brings. The predicted high is 100 tomorrow in Nashville.
Today was a pretty good day except we lost 2 things, one was replaceable and the other was not. I always ride with the window cracked a few inches and today as I tossed a piece of gum out the window I pulled my hand back in the car and my bracelet from my son, caught and fell off. By the time I realized what dropped we were too far away to go back and look for it. It was a one of a kind and very special to me. Needless to say I feel really bad and mad that I was wearing something I cherished. Lesson learned is never bring special jewelry on a road trip!
The second thing that flew off the car was our gas cap. Steve has a bad habit of filling the car with gas and leaving it on the hood. We almost lost it twice yesterday. Well, he swears he had it screwed on the hood, but it flew off anyway. He claims it was because the roads are terrible in IL. We bounced along today and yesterday and because of that it loosened. Luckily, he had another gas cap, but it didn’t have the rubber gasket, so he had to make one. Steve is good at improvising and so he cut cardboard he’d brought along and made a temporary gasket. So far it’s working, but to play it safe we did go to a hardware store and purchased rubber sheeting for another gasket if we need it.
Our last gas stop for the day was interesting. First, 2 employees saw the car and said “Oh cool, a Model “T”! People who don’t know cars always call it a “T”, so I corrected them. But more strange were the 2 questionable men that came over to talk to us. ( I think they’d had just a little too much to drink). Besides their condition, these 2 had strong southern accents that we could hardly understand. While one told us about his 1936 Ford, the other said his young friend would like to drive the car! We replied “No, I don’t think so” and took off! They were a little to creepy for me and I was glad we were already in the car ready to go!
Tomorrow we should be in Nashville around noon. I’m looking forward to all the places we plan to visit, especially the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday.
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