Travel Day - Tennessee to Ohio

Monday was a travel day. It was a long and convoluted travel day but it was a safe day that ended well. I rolled out of bed early and one of the first things I did was go outside and roll under the Green Machine. I noticed Sunday that we were leaving a little oil on the ground. I had the oil changed Saturday at Walmart in Harriman so I suspected there might be a problem related to that.

And I was right on that part. The small drip was coming from the drain plug and I could easily loosen it with my fingers. Although we needed to get on the road I knew I needed to take care of that. I was concerned that the drain plug had been over tightened and was stripped.

They were not busy at Walmart and they pulled me right in. It turns out that it did not appear to be stripped. It had not been tightened at all. I went down in the pit with the guy and when he torqued it to the right amount it was fine. The man in the pit Saturday tightened the drain plug with his fingers and forgot to torque it. I have driven over 200 miles since the oil change and at any time I could have lost the oil and then the engine.

Anyway they were properly apologetic and except for the inconvenience of a second trip over there and taking a little time Monday morning there was no lasting harm.

So we got on the road about an hour later than planned. It was a beautiful day to travel and with the exception of a little slow down in and north of Knoxville the traffic was not bad at all. Then we lost nearly another hour chasing a "new" Air Conditioner Cover.

As we were passing the Lafollette exit we heard a noise like the front roof AC cover was loose. We were in some pretty strong cross winds but it was over in a moment and the noise was gone.

When I stopped to check on the problem and fix it, the cover was GONE. I was watching closely for it in the mirror and camera but I did not see it when it made its exit.

This put me in a dilemma because it has to be covered and we are preparing to leave the bus for two weeks Wednesday. I did not have time to order a cover through Bro. Joe Dikeman as I have in times past. Plus there was a good chance of rain Monday evening so I needed to get it covered up.

I called Visone RV in London, Kentucky and they did not have a new one in stock. They did have a used one. I detoured by there and bought it. I paid about what a new one would have cost without shipping but having it in my hand was worth something. I was able to put it on as soon as we arrived in Ohio. It is taken care of and I can leave it with peace of mind.

Here's a picture of Kelly Jo peaking through the hatch.

And couple of pictures from on top of the bus.

All the screws were intact. The cover just came apart and blew off. The plastic gets brittle with age and starts to crack. I thought the whole cover blew off and was gone but I was wrong. There was one piece left attached. One very small piece under one of the screws.

So I guess it was almost completely gone!

As proof that some one is reading the blog I received a great email Monday morning and a great text Monday evening. Bro. Scott Morris sent me an email spoofing my Sunday View Out The Front Window posts. 

Our view doesn't change as often as some of our readers but occasionally it does so I thought I would post some pics.

This is the view from the window!!

This is the view from the door.

Hope you enjoyed the pics. We had a long travel day yesterday of 700 miles so today is a rest day.

The Morris Family,

Scott, Kim, Regan, and Rylee

I thought that was hilarious!

In the afternoon I received a text from Pastor Kelly Rogers spoofing the same post. He happened to be behind us as we were coming into town and sent us this picture and text.

The view out my front window just now.

Isn't that funny. That is great. At least I know Bro. Scott and Bro. Kelly are reading the blog. Maybe I am starting a trend.

Today is a busy day and I need to get cranking. Thanks for reading.

Davy