New Jersey to Illinois

August 16, 2012

Hi Friends and Family,

We left NJ around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.  We had an uneventful drive across the Pennsylvania Turnpike to I70.  We headed southwest on I70 and overnighted in Cambridge, Ohio.

This morning we headed west on I70 out of Ohio through Indiana.  As we approached Indianapolis, we saw some very black storm clouds running south to north.  We figured we were going to be in for some dicey driving.  We had a few sprinkles and then some light rain for a short time.  The skies cleared.

We pulled into the Casey, IL KOA around 4:00 p.m. (or is it 3:00 p.m.?).  We crossed into the Central Time Zone so it was 3:00 p.m.  We set up camp and was ready to find the closest fast food restaurant, when it started raining.  We then heard a knock on the door.  It was the campground owner, “We are under a tornado watch.  Everyone has to get into the restrooms by the office.”  So we put the dogs in their crates and bee lined it to the restrooms.  We were joined by two other couples and two dogs.  It is a good thing we didn’t bring Tuxedo and Gizmo.  There would have been too much drama with four dogs in a small restroom.  Anyway, we chatted with our restroom mates while listening to the wind and rain outside.  Suddenly, the lights flickered and then ---.  We had a power failure.  So we stood in the restroom for about 45 minutes in the dark.  The rain lightened and the campground crew gave us the “Okay” to go back to our coach.  It was still raining but not as hard.  We slogged through four inches of water in some places.  When we got to the coach, there were downed branches all around the car and the back of the coach.  Luckily, there was no damage.  I had to pull the coach up about five feet so the campground crew could cut the broken branches.

It is 8:00 p.m. and the power is still not back.  It is still raining.  It’s too cloudy for the satellite dish to work.  Terry, Tuxedo, and Gizmo are all asleep in various places in the coach.  I guess I’ll hit the send button and join them.

Storm Clouds building as we drive in Illinois.

Broken Branch which fell on back of coach

We are headed to Springfield, MO in the morning.  Pray the weather clears for our trip.
Terry, Cris, Tuxedo & Gizmo