<– Trip Overview Map | Day 2: Monday April 30th: Life’s Twists and Turns –>

DAY 1: When folks ask when we’ll be somewhere on this trip, I tell them it’s a bit of a fluid situation until we get closer to the East Coast. Case in point ….

Yesterday we left Pasco, headed for Grand Junction, Colorado. As we passed by Provo, we heard a strange noise like a tire popping, but nothing seemed amiss. We turned off at Spanish Fork and made it several miles up the canyon when we heard another noise followed by a ding: one of our tires was flat. Fortunately, we were able to pull safely off highway 6 (no fluids spilled, no damage, etc).

We put on the wimpy spare, then drove back down to Spanish Fork, where we spent the night. After a bunch of research on tires, we’ll hit Big O tire in Springville at 7AM to see what they can offer us. By the time we are out of here, we’ll have lost about a day.

Below is the planned route for yesterday … We are 3/4 of the way there.

And, the tire:

Finally, the phone issue. For five hours on Sat night/Sunday morning my phone showed no signs of life. Then, at 2am, when I happened to be awake, it popped on with a Facebook alert. After talking it over with Ann, we decided we would go ahead and upgrade my phone (it had been three years), as I no longer trusted it. We left early, reaching Twin Falls, Idaho, just as the store opened.

Purchasing the phone went fairly efficiently, though the transfer of info was slow, so slow that after we left some of my apps were still loading. By the time the tire blew four hours later, the apps were still loading. So, no Priceline app to reserve the hotel room in Spanish Fork and no Yelp app to help me locate a restaurant that was open (it was Sunday night in Utah after all). For sure, these are 1st world problems, but they didn’t help my day!

Let’s hope tomorrow goes more smoothly.

<– Trip Overview Map | Day 2: Monday April 30th: Life’s Twists and Turns –>

OVERVIEW | Day 1: Sunday April 29th: It’s a Fluid Situation; at Least No Fluids Spilled! –>

UPDATE II: Because of events at the beginning of our East Coast trip, we were forced to change our planned routes (see original map at the bottom). As a result, this was actual route:

Original post from April 28th: On Thursday evening, we made it back to Pasco after successfully repairing the mower and my mother’s computer. Hurray!

We have a pile of things to accomplish before our goal of leaving on SUNDAY APRIL 29th. Ann’s managing the annual launch of the sprinkler system (from lawns to farms, she’s a water pro), meanwhile I did my klutzy best to set us back by sitting on my glasses. Sigh …. so I spent yesterday getting a new set of glasses. Fortunately, I’d already secured a prescription last week when I bought new contacts.

Now that Ann and I are on the same page in terms of travels (there was some initial confusion), we’ve scoped out the early part of our trip. Our first must-be-there date is Black Mountain, NC, on May 11th. The next is Aurora, Ohio, May 16th. Once we get to Missouri (which we think will be two days), we ought to be able to pin down our dates more specifically. Here’s the rough route:

On our agenda, are several jeep barns, a couple museums with early jeeps, the Pizza Hut museum (who knew?), Omix Ada museum, several family visits, the Midwest Willys Reunion, and much much more. Thanks to everyone who plan to share their jeeps, their homes and their stories with us!

1. OVERVIEW: 2018 East Coast Trip
2. Day 1: Sunday April 29th: It’s a Fluid Situation; at Least No Fluids Spilled!
3. Day 2: Monday April 30th: Life’s Twists and Turns
4. Day 3: Tuesday May 1: Weathering Oz
5. Day 4 – Wednesday May 2: Old Friends
6. Day 5 – Thursday May 3: Rainy Day Quilts
7. Day 6 – Friday May 4: Parker To the Rescue!
8. Day 7 – Saturday May 5: There’s a Coffee Shop Here?
9. Day 8 – Sunday May 6: Somber to Soda
10. Day 9 – Mon May 7: Jeeps, Rest & Laundry
11. Day 10 – Tues May 8: Laurel, Hardy & Wood Cars
12. Day 11- Wed. May 9th: Exploring the Palmetto State
13. Day 12 – Thurs. May 10th: Willys to Hawgs
14. Day 13 – Friday May 11th: Lawrence & Lubbeck
15. Day 14 – Sat. May 12th: Ann Gets the Boot
16. Day 15 – Sunday May 13th: Great Scott, Another Jungle Jims?
17. Day 16 – Monday May 14th: Drive Them Jeeps!
18. Day 17 – Tuesday May 15th: Cheese N’ Hardware
19. Day 18 – Wed. May 16th: We’ve Arrived in Aurora
20. Day 19 – Thurs. May 17th: No Rain Yet …
21. Day 20 – Friday May 18th: Reunion Day 1
22. Day 21 – Saturday May 19th: Mr. Infamous
23. Day 22 – Sunday May 20th: Hittin’ The Road
24. Day 23 – Mon. May 21st: From Summer Santa to the Police Academy
25. Day 24 – Tuesday May 22: Rain N’ Fog in Coal Country
26. Day 25 – Wednesday May 23rd: Steel, Strings & Sellersville
27. Day 26 – Thursday May 24th: Architecture & Organs
28. Day 27 & Day 28 – Fri/Sat May 25th/26th: What is Happening?
29. Day 29 – Sunday May 27th: The Exley House Curse
30. Day 30 – Monday May 28th: Grilling in the Rain
31. Day 31 – Tuesday May 29th: Nous aurons toujours Paris
32. Day 32 – Wednesday May 30th: Little Town, Big Ideas
33. Day 33 – Thursday May 31st: Getting Our Kicks on Route 66
34. Day 34 – Friday June 1st: The Route of Confusion
35. Day 35 – Saturday June 2nd: Following the Western Cattle Trail
36. Day 36 – Sunday June 3rd: Leaving The Plains
37. Day 37 – Monday June 4th: Up and Over the Rockies
38. Day 38/39 – Tues/Wed June 5th/6th: Road Home – Epilogue

OVERVIEW |  Day 1: Sunday April 29th: It’s a Fluid Situation; at Least No Fluids Spilled! –>