The new rig is ready.

After a delay of about a week and a half past the original completion date, the new rig is ready.  But with the time that has elapsed, work schedules are such that Cyndee will have to stay in Georgia and I will have to make the trek to Kansas alone.

I threw a few clothes in a small bag, loaded up the "starter kit" of plastic-ware, paper plates and towels, blankets, pillow, etc. that we had put together for getting us through the week of training and getting it home.  My appointment for taking possession of the new rig was for 10:00am Wednesday morning, Aug 8.

It is a two-day drive to cover the 900 miles between Cumming, GA and Junction City, KS.  I went to work on Monday morning the 6th to get a few things done that could not wait till I got back.  About 1:30 that afternoon I climbed into the truck and headed West.

Over the weekend I had found a number of rest stops and truck stops that were at about the half-way point and a little beyond.  Since I will be by myself, I'll just overnight in one of these and not fuss with a hotel room.

For having left so late, I made it quite aways.  I decided to just keep driving until it got late and cooled off enough to sleep without the benefit of airconditioning.  Using that strategy got me to a rest stop about 35 miles East of St. Louis.

My GPS showed that I had been on the road almost nine hours with about 40 minutes of pit stops and 540 miles traversed.  I eased into the rest stop and found a parking spot at the far end of the side for cars.  There were already some weary travelers parked nearby and bedded down for the night so I quietly went about setting up my bed.

The back seat of the F-550 will lay flat and makes a decent place to sleep, for one, my size.  I got out the blankets and pillow and proceeded to do a little housekeeping.

All-in-all it was not a bad night's sleep.  The temperature had dropped into the 70's and with the rear split-window open and the back seat windows cracked, it made for a fairly comfortble night.

Still, the anticipation of getting started with the new rig contributed to an early awakening.  About 4:30 am my eyes popped open and I headed to the rest stop's facilities to splash some water on my face and brush my teeth.

By 5am I was back on the road and had St. Louis in my sight about the time the sun came up.  Since I had made my one fuel stop late the day before there was no need to stop except for bio-breaks.  By two o'clock I was getting close and made a call to the factory to see if the rig would be far enough along for me to stay in it tonight.  Sadly, it was not.  They said they needed right up until the 10:00am appointment to get it ready.  I grabbed a room at The Hamilton Inn in Junction City, went to the Walmart Supercenter deli and picked out my supper, got back to the room, got the TV on, put my feet up and promptly went to sleep.  I woke up sometime in the middle of the night and got undressed and got in bed proper.