The day started with dog walks and quiet time around the house. We hiked down the path through the campground and into the bush a little ways. Nice wooded campground with friendly neighbors and attentive hosts. I put the locking rings on the Tire Minders and readjusted the tire pressures using my gauge.

At eleven we slipped out of the RV park and stopped in at the local gas station to fill up the tank. It took close to a c-note to top off the tank and when I calculated the mileage, we are getting a miserly 8.1 mpg. The rumor on the internet is that the mileage goes up after the big v-10 engine goes through a break in period. The forums also advocate slowing down for a substantial increase. They say 55 – 60 miles per hour equals 10 miles per gallon. Our goal after we finish our dash to California to get registered is to slow the pace substantially, going short distances and staying at places we find interesting for longer periods of time.

We accelerated up the ramp onto highway 80 and settled in for a long straight day of driving. Set the cruise control at 65 and sat back and relaxed. About an hour into the trek, we passed an elderly couple stranded on the side of the highway. I pulled onto the shoulder and backed up as far as I could. A missionary preacher named Art from New Jersey with his wife Peggy. They had a right rear flat tire and he had it serviced at a garage in Jersey where they cranked the lug nuts on so tight that he couldn’t get them off. I got the breaker bar out of my basement and we got most of them loosened up but when it came to the locking lug nut, the pattern of the key that fits the grooves on the nut stripped out the nut when we put the leverage on it. There was no getting it off. He finally had to call AAA and get someone out to provide some help. He thanked us and blessed us with a road side prayer sending us on our way. We were frustrated that were unable to get him back on the road.

We continued on through the remainder of Pennsylvania and on into Ohio. Endless miles of seas of colorful trees. I apologize for boring everyone with more foliage shots but it was hour after hour of nothing but fall colored trees. Being from California all of my life, it’s a new phenomenon for me. We enjoyed a few days of it up in Julian Price State Park in North Carolina last year but an actual visual change of season is still a novelty for me.

We made sandwiches at a rest stop just before the Ohio state line and sat at a bench and took a bit of a break. The dogs needed a respite as much as we did. Lots of travelers passing through and lines of semi trucks were idling in the lot. We didn’t tarry long and were back on the road in short order.

As we got into Ohio, the landscape grew more crowded and the trees gave way to industrial enterprises. Three lane toll roads replaced the forested two lane highway we were becoming accustomed to. After negotiating a maze of construction near Streetsboro, we eventually reached our exit and made our way down to Woodside Lake. The place is surprisingly full for end of October. Lots of families and long term campers. We were given a site down in the lower meadow next to a couple of guys from Michigan tent camping for the weekend.

We set up house, then stuck our travel maps on the side of the motorhome then affixed all of the states we have visited in the past year and a few months. We figured even though we are starting out in a new RV, we can still claim credit for places we’ve been on this journey. It was a pleasant afternoon and it was nice to spend some time outside.

We adjourned to the coach as evening settled upon us and ate salads while watching the Penn State – Michigan game that had caused us some traffic grief earlier in the day. I switched back and forth between that game and the USC – Norte Dame match up. As an alumni of UCLA, it is always a pleasure to watch our arch rival take a serious shelacking. We made until half time then were too tired to keep hanging on. Took the dogs for a hike around the dark campground admiring the lighted fountains in the lake and checking out our fellow campers and their set ups. Time for sleep to prepare for another long day in the saddle.