Aaaaaahhhh...Elgin, At Last

After a night in, I believe, Omaha, NE, I found myself energized enough to drive the rest of the way to where I was headed, which was the Days Inn in Elgin.
After having already gone through the life-sized rollercoaster called The Rockies, Nebraska and Iowa seemed like nothing to drive through...except that the speed limit on the highway in those two states is 70 mph, and trucks are not required to slow down and stay in the right-hand lane...so essentially, EVERYONE gets to go 70 mph, in EVERY lane. For me, this was a bit of a challenge, as my transmission was already starting to show signs of wearing. I did the best that I could, but sometimes it didn't seem to shift up into a higher speed for me, and I found myself going relatively slow, considering how people seem to want to go faster than the posted speed limit.
I remember making a few stops along the way, one being in Iowa, where I had one of my tires checked. I must have thought it looked low or something.
And, three years ago today, was when I drove past the highway sign for a town called What Cheer, Iowa. Boy, I had to do a double-take when I saw that one!
Finally, come evening, I entered Illinois. Aaaaaahhhhh...the Midwest...that I hadn't seen since 1997.
By the time I got into Illinois, it was already starting to get dark.
I entered greater Chicago shortly after midnight. This was where, and when, I accidentally went off-roading, for 2 of the scariest seconds of my life since I left the Rockies. Long story short, my headlights just weren't bright enough to carry me through the rural backroads of greater Chicago after midnight...so I ended up going off the road, quite by accident, and went right back on the road as fast as I could.
Finally, around 1am on July 27th, 2006, I arrived at the Days Inn in Elgin, IL...and took the rest of the day off, so I would be rested up enough to enjoy what I went out there for in the first place.
Naturally, I'll finish this tale! I'm on a roll here.
But...we're gonna take a late stroll around the neighborhood in a minute here, so I gotta run.
Good night, sweetheart, good night!!! Love ya!! Thanks for stopping by!!
Ta-ta, for now!
(poofski)

Seats, Anyone???

One more idea quickly before I turn everything off and get my beauty rest.
Anyone want some leather seats?? They're in pretty good shape for their age (came out of a 1989 Toyota Cressida). As I once put in an eBay listing, get creative. You could use these for living room seats...or seats for some other room.
The other thing is, I have some other spare parts left over from when we had a 1983 Cressida and a 1985 Supra. Just thought I'd mention it. Check CraigsList, San Diego. I have several listings there, including these seats.
Thanks for considering, or at least reading!!
Now, I really DO mean, Good night...ta-ta...etc.
Love ya!!
(poofski)

"Over, Under, Sideways, and Down"

So if I ended yesterday in Avon, Colorado, that meant that I drove through the rest of Colorado today, three years ago. July 25, 2006. What a drive!!!! As the song title says, "Over, Under, Sideways, and Down". Geez!! I'd give anything for that adventure again, BUT at the time, I thought I was gonna die! Thank goodness, I made it through, ending the day in Nebraska, I believe. Yes. Nebraska. I drove through Colorado, just missing Denver, as I was on I-76--just west of Denver. This is a beautiful country. I can't believe I actually drove through so much of it!
And, by the way, my transmission problem is NOT caused by that gear selector switch. So, we're back to Square 1. We figured we'd analyze that part of the situation ourselves...my sweetheart and myself. Thank goodness I do have someone here who cares about me, and who also happens to know how to work on cars more so than I do. Too bad neither of us are equipped to handle this particular transmission. There WILL be a solution to this; I just have no idea what at this moment.
No wonder I'm so tired. It's after midnight, and I didn't get a nap in today.
So....
Good night, sweetheart, good night!!! Love ya!!
Best wishes, ta-taa, etc.
(poofski)