June 13, later that day

June 13 (evening), 2007

The boys were tired from a full day of stop and go driving. The fuel filters were clogging up fast on the fresh, east end of historic route 66. A group of tired male high school graduates is a hungry group of boys. The quality of food and beverage has already become worse than the night before. The fridge hasn’t been plugged in since be left and the cooler cracked, spilling water, ice and deli meat onto the bathroom floor. Cookies, airheads, and scotch-a-roos have become dinner entrées already in our second day.
A stop at the “Loves” truck stop solved all of our problems. The 12v. power converter we had been using was enough to charge a cell phone here and there, but the stereo, fridge, laptops, and other necessities had been left powerless. There was a bigger, better converter in the store that we thought would power our Winnebago luxuries. Store manager Rockey supplied us with kind, but pessimistic advice, doubting our decision to buy a 400 watt converter. He was right, it didn’t work. But then a darker colored, even more powerful converter for the same price ($10.00 less after mail-in rebate) appeared in the display case. It was more difficult to install but we exchanged the 400 watt failure for the 500 watt powerhouse that would help us prove Rockey dead wrong. After a long break at the truck stop, we enjoyed cold beverages and non-melted candy bars. The laptops and phones stayed charged as the Winnebago (now called Helen) idled coarsely in front of “Loves” truck store. Another battle won in the name of Helen in this war against the road.
A few miles down the road, at the first light we encountered another minor set back, more exciting than troublesome. A side compartment containing a couple of car jacks and a shovel opened up and dropped cargo. Unsure if the boxes on the side of the road were ours or not, we made a quick right and a recovery team was launched out the side. Satisfied with the survival rate of our dropped luggage we regrouped and hopped back into Helen. A few on the run bottle rocket launches out the window, and everything is back to normal, as normal as things get in the Bago. Freshly cold mountain dews in hand for the first time since we left, we lug down the road towards Missouri, prepared for whatever our next state has to offer. Bring it on….

Winnebago Guys, from the desk of Aaron Tubergen
June 13, evening, 2007
North of Springfield, Illinois
395 miles from home