Day 1 - Champaign, Illinois to Lincoln, Nebraska

June 21, 2015

Today is the day! We woke up at 5am and started getting ready for the day. Cody wasn't feeling well so I don't think he was happy about being up that early. He said to me "I didn't know you were serious about getting up at 5am". Sorry baby but we had to get on the road. We have over 8 hours to drive today to get to Lincoln, Nebraska. 

We hit the road at 7am. We stopped for gas then jumped on the interstate. Almost as soon as we got on the interstate we realized that the RV was swaying way too much for comfort. It was a hazard and was making Cody very nervous. We decided to stop somewhere to get a sway control kit. We ended up getting off the interstate and taking two lanes to a Farm and Fleet in Morton, Illinois. We bought the below kit for about $250. We decided to get a weight distribution kit with a sway bar stabilizer

Cody did a pouting face for the picture but he was such a trooper putting the kit on the truck and RV. He didn't get frustrated or anything. I'm glad he brought a bunch of his tools. Otherwise we would have had to buy a bunch of tools that we already have. 

The above pic is the kit Cody installed in the Farm and Fleet parking lot. It took a little over an hour to install. The kit really made a big difference. 

So everything is going along nicely. The drive is steady and then we blow a tire on the RV a little before 2pm. Ugh!!!!  We call State Farm for roadside assistance and realize that my insurance on the RV is for it in storage not to be pulled so there will be no roadside assistance. Which means we need to either leave the RV on the side of the interstate or pull it slowly to the next exit. Not knowing the best option Cody called the sheriffs office. An officer was out to us within 10 minutes. He knew someone to call to get us a tire delivered and put on right there on the side of the interstate. Kudos to that officer and the Iowa County Sheriffs Department. 

Of course I was a bit freaked out during the whole ordeal and Cody stayed calm, cool and collected. I love him for so many reasons and today I loved him mostly for being able to handle a stressful situation like it was nothing. 

It cost $270 and two hours of our time. Not fun. Rather than getting to Lincoln at 5pm we got there a little after 8pm. 

We got to our site and had one of my close friends who lives in Lincoln stop by and visit. I love seeing Nicole!  We ate too much food, drank too much beer, and stayed up too late but it was a blast!