September 19th is coming, the trip northward.  This is the big trip of the year which takes us from Texas through Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois to Wisconsin; then down to Indiana and back home through Kentucky and Tennessee.  This trip will last for over four weeks so there will be multiple blog posts.

Let's get ready to roll!

Let’s get ready to roll!

The plan to date is to spend only one night on the road going to Wisconsin, stopping near St Louis for the first evening.  This will be about a ten-hour drive for the Girls (our shepherds Hannah and Kendra).  So that means a few stops along the way for potty breaks and water.  Then day two takes us to the small town of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.  This is where Tammy’s parents reside and there is a campground within a few miles of their house.  We will stay there for two nights before heading east to a county Park near Racine Wisconsin.  Here we will visit the kids and some friends for about three weeks.

Then we will drive to First Choice RV Repair in Goshen Indiana.  There we will have warranty work completed; and an upgrade to our suspension.  As far as I’m concerned this will be the last of the modifications to the trailer….I cant think of anything else we could install with the exception of some sort of internet.

This trip would have been much harder without really great neighbors who will be baby sitting our Pionus Parrot, Mati.  Whenever we have taken off this year, our friend Al has watched Mati and our pool; and kept an eye out for any out of the ordinary activity.  We have a great security system so it’s reassuring to know there is someone in the neighborhood we can contact should the alarm sound.  During this trip Al will be gone on and off while we are out-of-town; so our friends Frank and Judi are going to be taking over the Mati duties.

We have made preparations to have the lawn and pool taken care of while we are gone as well.  The only thing I’m a little worried about is that there has been an influx of rodents into the pool this year – and I cannot figure out why.  Last year was for the most part rodent free when it came to the pool, so this is a surprise.  All of the construction is done in our neighborhood so you would think there would be no activity at all, and yet every week there is something.  Al and I typically compare notes on what we are finding and he has had the same issue…yesterday he had a snake in his skimmer.  So, I’m a little concerned that the pool company is only going to come once a week and what that might mean as far as bloating rodents in the pool…disgusting.

We have placed the mail on hold.  A few weeks into the trip the mail will be forwarded from our local post office to my daughter’s house.

The trailer is prepped and ready for the trip.  I have double checked inflation, washed, inspected, and calked the roof, and we have even put new tires on the Imagine, replacing the Westlake Tires (that had about 2500 miles on them) with Goodyear Endurance.  The reason we dumped the Westlake tires is that we read way too many horror stories from folks that have them on their travel trailers.  Although we have a pressure monitoring system on the trailer that would quickly catch a blow out, we just don’t want to chance a stop on the side of the road because the tires are substandard.

I’m not pushing any brand of tire because tires (and tow vehicles) are like religion to some people.  Everyone has their own opinion about tire brands; in the end you have to purchase what you have faith in.   In one of our previous blogs ( to read Tired of Tires click here);  you will read that I replaced the Jayco tires with the TowMaster brand.  I continue to have “faith” in  the TowMaster brand.  However, I have heard great things about the Goodyear Endurance Tires.  This includes the fact that these tires are manufactured in the USA.   As a result we purchase them.  I just could not beat the deal and warranty the Discount Tires offered us.

Changing the tires in anticipation of the trek northward.

Changing the tires in anticipation of the trek northward.

Now we are just a few days away from leaving.  The only things left to do is to start loading the trailer with clothes, food, dog supplies, Packer Jerseys;  and all the necessary paperwork for the trip.  Paperwork included the puppies vet records and reservation details.  Let’s hope with a few days left to prepare that we don’t get down the road with the “I feel like we forgot something” feeling.

To continue on this trip with us click here.