Fayetteville Tennessee to Alma Michigan

Plans Change

We got a call from Harry after we had gone to bed. He confirmed that Jan would be undergoing a triple by-pass operation on Friday. The doctor said he wasn't too concerned because she was in excellent shape for her age. Regardless, we decided to cut the trip short and head home. We'd be there Thursday afternoon. This will be the first Eureka Springs reunion we miss since it was started in 2001, but some things are more important.

We packed, had the complimentary breakfast (which included biscuits, gravy and sausage) and said our goodbyes to Jerry and Toby. The cell phone was now working, having kicked on at 3:30 AM to tell me I had three messages. I called Sherm, got his voicemail, and asked him to let Phil and Janie at the Iron Horse know that we would be cancelling. We also called the kids to let them know what was happening.

We headed west on the David Crockett Parkway at 8:00 AM. Took I-24 to Nashville, where we found the HOV lane was an excellent cure for rush hours. We blistered right through, passing stopped traffic. It amazed me how few vehicles had more than one person in them. Then there were a few singles sneaking into the HOV, but they ducked out when they saw police cars in the left hand breakdown lane. Weasels.

From Nashville, we headed north to Louisville and Indianapolis on I-65. When we caught I-69 in Indy, it was 90 degrees. Fort Wayne almost got me. Stretching gas, I planned to fuel at exit 116. Exit 116 was closed and the next exit was way up at 126, but it didn't have gas. At 129 in Auburn, we found our usual BP station had changed ownership, but I didn't care. I put 6.2 gallons in a 6.5 gallon tank. I estimate that, if the 6.5 was accurate,I could have made it 12 more miles.

One thing I have been noticing. The further north I go, the more I pay for gas and the less miles I get to the gallon. Double rip. I wonder why the gas up here is less efficient. It's too early for the winter blend.

We came through Lansing just after 6:00 PM and it was still 80F. This was certainly a difference from last week when we were freezing coming back from Terre Haute. You never can tell. We stopped at a Days Inn in Alma, Michigan about 7:00 PM after having covered 677 miles in 11 hours. We ate at the Big Boy next door.

Checking the VROC newsgroup, we found many messages of support in response to the post I made this morning about why we were going home. This is our family and we really appreciate them.