Florida Bound

Day 10 Wednesday 12/13/2017Got up and took the dogs out. Brushed my teeth, sort of and left the Walmart parking lot for the Dodge dealership. I spent the night in Nebraska and drove to Iowa to have Spike serviced. Yep. It was all of about 4 miles. Got to the dealership at about 8:00. Drank several cups of coffee and talked with some of the locals who were having vehicles serviced. I dropped the trailer in a defunct Ford dealers lot and put the dogs in the trailer. Every 30 minutes or so I checked to make sure that they were okay. 

 Finally, at 11:00 they cut me loose. I jumped back on I-29 and went south to Kansas City. Aside from being nearly run off the road by idiots on their cell phones getting to KC was very boring.  From there I caught I-70 to St. Louis. I had intended to stay the night there but they have so much violent crime that I thought it might not be safe even in a Walmart parking lot. It was only about 90 miles on to Cape Girardeau. I opted to drive the extra 1 1/2 hours just to be safe. Arrived at the Walmart at 10:00. 

 I'm hurrying every chance I get so I'm not doing much in the way of sight seeing. I understand that Rush Limbaugh's boyhood home is here somewhere but I'll be moving on in the morning without seeing it. I am going to attempt to make it to Bessemer, AL to see a cousin I haven't seen since I graduated high school in 1963. Graduated may be a serious over statement of the facts. I was released with a piece of paper that said. " Yep. He attended all 12 years." My academic career stalled when I discovered the School Library at the beginning of the 10th grade. From then on I read 4-5 books a week. I only read text books at the beginning of each school year. The only books I ever took home were library books. I discovered something odd about my education a couple of years ago. I somehow skipped the sixth grade. Moved to Alabama to live with my father and I was just starting the 6th. Started Brighton School in the Seventh. I didn't start school until I was 7 but I 'graduated' at 18. Didn't seem to make any difference. 

 The dogs have been fed and are asleep. Seems a damned shame to wake them up for their evening walk. If I don't take them out Gandy will get me up at 3-4 in the morning. 

 Covered 628 miles today in 11 hours. Average speed 57.1 mph. Not a bad day of driving.  The temp is a balmy 49 degrees. 

 Dinner was sliced chicken on honey wheat with a slab of Vidalia onion. Dessert was a handful of ginger snaps. All of it washed down by vodka-seven.