Today is the last leg of our trip home. We left Springfield around 6:15 a.m. and were on the road.
Because we had to move things around before we left (to make sure stuff didn't roll around or bang into things in the boat) the boat is a total mess, along with the bed of the truck. We can't find things and are tripping over everything.
Around 8:00 a.m., in the town of Peru, Illinois, there was a loud bang. Our rear-right tire on the trailer blew and the trailer fender also blew off. Kip walked back quite a way to get the fender.
You will need to zoom in to see Kip walking to get the fender!
Kip loaded up the damaged fender and we slowly made our way about 3 miles (on the side of the road with our hazard lights on) to a Love's gas station. They removed the tire but didn't have new tires there to purchase, so we unhooked the boat from the truck and drove to Walmart for a tire. Kip got a new tire and the Love's maintenance man put it back on the trailer for us. He did not charge us for the help, but we tipped him (and he seemed really surprised about receiving a tip). Kip said he had trouble on a previous trip and the same thing happened - they helped and did not charge him. We are sold on Love's gas stations and will stop there on all of our trips. We are also thankful that it happened in Peru, Illinois instead of Atlanta, Georgia!
We got back on the road by 10:30 a.m. Let me tell you, it is a looooooooong drive from Florida to Minnesota. Driving to Florida seemed easier (probably because we were excited to go) but going back to Minnesota to the cold weather was hard. I think the other reason it is hard is because we created to-do lists and know that we have lots of things to take care of (instead of spending the days at the beach or reading). The biggest bonus is seeing our family and friends again.
As soon as we got to Minnesota, we saw the flooding. We stopped at Lake City, Minnesota to check out the marina. We know for sure that we won't need to worry about putting the Roamer into the water any time soon. They are taking trailers and boats off of the point and moving them inland and there is no way we will get the Roamer out for now.
This is looking down the street in Red Wing to the river.
St stopped at Nick and Mary's house to pick up our mail and then continued to Elk River. Everything at home looked fine. We unloaded a few items but were too tired to unload the entire boat/truck mess. We had dinner (listening to the Wild hockey game), showered, and sat in our chairs until bedtime. We are happy to be home.
We will be leaving for Florida again in January 2024. We appreciate all of you for reading the blog and supporting us throughout our adventures.
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