There and back

We were up at 6:30 (Evelyn had been awake from 2 to 4 because she had gone to sleep at 8), packed, the car loaded and on the road by 7:30. We left in a heavy mist and drove in and out of rain until we got into KY. It then cleared up, giving us a beautiful view of the peak weekend in the mountains. We made very good time and were in Corbin by 11:00. We got gas and surprisingly recorded 23.1 mpg. I was suspicious of that number because it can be a result of not filling the tank completely. I was especially suspicious because I had set the cruise on 65 while I rarely drive faster than 60. We ate lunch as we drove (Evelyn had made ham sandwiches on delicious Kroger bread) because it was too cold to sit outside on picnic tables. I reasoned if we had to sit in the car to eat, we might as well make time. We took a different route in that when we got to Lexington, we took I-64 west to Louisville. There we took 65 north to Indianapolis and went to the Trader Joe’s to get Charles Shaw wine. We had called ahead from our On Star telephone to see if they carried it. It was frustrating because we had trouble getting the car phone to understand us. I was screaming into the microphone only to hear, “Let’s try again.” Finally we got through. We bought three cases of wine at $3 per bottle. That should last me all winter. I also bought Evelyn some flowers, -romantic fool that I am, and we went on. We went back to I-65 and called the Super 8 at West Lafayette. We had an ad that quoted $45 plus tax but they had no vacancies. We refueled and recorded 27.1 for gas mileage. Perhaps the earlier record was right! Perhaps it is the flatter terrain helps. We pulled in to Lebanon and got a room at Lees Inn for $47 plus tax. I had to talk hard to the young desk clerk to get that rate but did. We ate the rest of our lunch for dinner and then went to get a DQ Blizzard. As the Lord had it, it was half price week. We went to the Kroger store across the street and found Hazelnut/Poppyseed bread for $1.89. Quite inexpensive. We returned to the motel for a night’s rest. I want to be on the road by no later than 9 tomorrow morning so we can meet our football friends for lunch.
We got up, had some continental breakfast, packed and left for Purdue by 9. We mat Paul and Shirley at their motor home for the sandwich they had made for us. We wished them well for the winter and rode the shuttle with them to the stadium. We began talking with anyone we saw with tickets holding them in the air. After talking with several, We found a couple willing to accept the amount I had determined to pay: $40 for two. Their face value was $55 each. The tickets were great on the east side 59 rows up on the 30 yard line. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the experience. The defense played very well but the offense was terrible. Wisconsin is a very good team, but it was the poor passing that cost the game. We were able to stay in the stadium until nearly the end, but the outcome was certainly decided. We walked to the lot because we needed the exercise. We jumped into the car and rushed off to Muncie. We arrived at 6:00 in time to redress for the dinner. We went with my friend, Sam and his sister and husband, Donna and Darl. We enjoyed the dinner and Sam’s induction into our fraternity hall of fame. I was also able to see some of my brothers from the past. We came home and I retired by 10:30.
Sunday we were up by 6:30 and on the road by nearly 8:00. We drove secondary roads to the interstates around Cincinnati and on into Kentucky. We made it to Lexington where we decided we wanted to lunch at a Red Lobster. We spent nearly half an hour looking for the location. We finally lunched and went on to Corbin to get fuel but the stations were all busy. We did, however, find one farther on and filled up. We recorded 24.2 MPG.. I hope this trend continues. We stopped at the Clinch Mountain restaurant to check out the view and the food. The former was great; the latter was only passable. We continued on, arriving home at 7:30. We unpacked and watched some TV before going to bed.
We were both tired and didn’t arise until 8 on Monday. We began gathering things to take to the motor home so we can begin packing for our exodus from here to Texas. We took the things and discovered they have not yet found the problem with the refrigerator. We pray it is not the entire cooling package again. We are also in a potential bind concerning our leaving with things working correctly. If there are many parts needed to make repairs, we may have to leave without a working refrigerator because we are committed to being in San Antonio by the 12th. We also stopped to get a ring replacement for Evelyn who bought a ring August 30 and lost the set around the first of October. The people were very understanding and gave her a new ring plus an $8 credit. We came home for lunch of soup and some rest. At 3 we went to the golf course for my final round in NC this season. I lost more balls than on any other round because of the leaves that were all over the fairways and greens. Since lost balls cost a stroke, I didn’t shoot my best. We came home and invited the neighbors over for dinner of smoked salmon, squash, green beans, apple salsa and delicious chocolate almond cake. We have a good time with them and learned that one of our association members (who is a pain in the neck) are building a new home and are causing the contractors no end of anguish. We will all be glad when they leave here. We went to bed early: work tomorrow.