Well, I wouldn't really say "misdirected" by the GPS. HOPEFUL, which is the name I gave to the GPS in the van I'm leasing did at least take me in the right direction!
Let me back up. This morning my nurse friend drove me to the airport for a 7am flight, on her way to the hospital for a 7am shift. I flew to St. Louis, MO via Minneapolis. While in Mpls Well, I wouldn't really say "misdirected" by the GPS. HOPEFUL, which is the name I gave to the GPS in the van I'm leasing did at least take me in the right direction!
Let me back up. This morning my nurse friend drove me to the airport for a 7am flight, on her way to the hospital for a 7am shift. I flew to St. Louis, MO via Minneapolis. While in Mpls I got a call from a lady at the ministry that was going to lease the van. She said that there was ice on Hwy 70 and that there had been about 6 accidents already on one stretch. She said that when I got to St. Louis, that I might want to wait til later or tomorrow before leaving for my trek back to Omaha.
Well, I arrived in St. Louis and was picked up by a man, driving the van that I would use. We drove to "Righteous Rides", the ministry that has fleet of vans that they lease to ministers and missionaries at a "good rate". The car had just joined their fleet of 38 other vehicles and needed a bit of tweaking. After an orientation to the car, I started off driving, listening to GPS HOPEFUL tell me to turn left onto HWY 61. I did as told. I drove, hoping to find Hwy 70, the one I expected to cross Missouri to get to Kansas City and then go north to Omaha.
HOPEFUL never did get me to Hwy 70. Of course, I didn't know where it was. I just kept going north. The van has a compass so as long as I was driving North or West or NW, I felt I was ok. I finally stopped at a filling station and looked at a map to see I was heading directly North and was almost to Hannibal. Mark Twain's territory I'm thinking since there were lots of things with his name attached. Anyway, before getting to Hannibal HOPEFUL directed me to turn left onto Missouri A. That turned out to be the "scenic" route which is might have been if it had been a sunny day. It was however cloudy with snow flurries the whole trip. That road was the most snow covered but no where the whole day did I hit anything that made the car slip. I road West on Missouri A until it had me turn North for a few miles to get to HWY 36. I turned left on 36, headed towards St. Joseph, MO and completely bypassing Kansas City. That's fine with me.
By this time it was 5pm and dark. My prayer was twofold. That I would not have an accident (with the possibility of ice) and that I would find a hotel with internet for the night. About 5:30 HOPEFUL got me to Mason, MO where I spotted ONE known motel, a Super 8. I got the LAST room, a smoking room for four people. Of course I do not smoke and I am one person but the price wasn't really much different, only about $8 more. And it was the ONLY room!
I left my stuff in the room and checked out the internet. If there had not been any, I would have taken my computer to the restaurant when I went out to eat. There WAS internet. Why did I doubt? I ran off to the Burger King and had a grilled Chicken salad with honey mustard dressing. It tasted oh so good. I am now in the room watching NCIS LA and computing. WooHoo!
Today's Positives:
1. My flights were good and I got some exercise walking through the airports.
2. I picked up my nice van, easy to drive with a nice ride.
3. Although there were snow flurries in the air, I didn't hit any patches of ice on the road.
4. I got the LAST available room at the motel!
5. I chose a chicken salad for supper instead of some highly caloric, not so good for me meal.
6. I was able to buy a snow scraper after supper in case I need it in the morning.
6. I'm here in my warm room, doing INTERNET! I don't yet have it yet in my home in Omaha. That should be installed on Friday.
Thanks for the many who have been following my adventures from the Equator to the snow storms of the Midwest. After finishing my trip to Omaha tomorrow I hope to stay put for awhile. No trips!!
247I got a call from a lady at the ministry that was going to lease the van. She said that there was ice on Hwy 70 and that there had been about 6 accidents already on one stretch. She said that when I got to St. Louis, that I might want to wait til later or tomorrow before leaving for my trek back to Omaha.
Well, I arrived in St. Louis and was picked up by a man, driving the van that I would use. We drove to "Righteous Rides", the ministry that has fleet of vans that they lease to ministers and missionaries at a "good rate". The car had just joined their fleet of 38 other vehicles and needed a bit of tweaking. After an orientation to the car, I started off driving, listening to GPS HOPEFUL tell me to turn left onto HWY 61. I did as told. I drove, hoping to find Hwy 70, the one I expected to cross Missouri to get to Kansas City and then go north to Omaha.
HOPEFUL never did get me to Hwy 70. Of course, I didn't know where it was. I just kept going north. The van has a compass so as long as I was driving North or West or NW, I felt I was ok. I finally stopped at a filling station and looked at a map to see I was heading directly North and was almost to Hannibal. Mark Twain's territory I'm thinking since there were lots of things with his name attached. Anyway, before getting to Hannibal HOPEFUL directed me to turn left onto Missouri A. That turned out to be the "scenic" route which is might have been if it had been a sunny day. It was however cloudy with snow flurries the whole trip. That road was the most snow covered but no where the whole day did I hit anything that made the car slip. I road West on Missouri A until it had me turn North for a few miles to get to HWY 36. I turned left on 36, headed towards St. Joseph, MO and completely bypassing Kansas City. That's fine with me.
By this time it was 5pm and dark. My prayer was twofold. That I would not have an accident (with the possibility of ice) and that I would find a hotel with internet for the night. About 5:30 HOPEFUL got me to Mason, MO where I spotted ONE known motel, a Super 8. I got the LAST room, a smoking room for four people. Of course I do not smoke and I am one person but the price wasn't really much different, only about $8 more. And it was the ONLY room!
I left my stuff in the room and checked out the internet. If there had not been any, I would have taken my computer to the restaurant when I went out to eat. There WAS internet. Why did I doubt? I ran off to the Burger King and had a grilled Chicken salad with honey mustard dressing. It tasted oh so good. I am now in the room watching NCIS LA and computing. WooHoo!
Today's Positives:
1. My flights were good and I got some exercise walking through the airports.
2. I picked up my nice van, easy to drive with a nice ride.
3. Although there were snow flurries in the air, I didn't hit any patches of ice on the road.
4. I got the LAST available room at the motel!
5. I chose a chicken salad for supper instead of some highly caloric, not so good for me meal.
6. I was able to buy a snow scraper after supper in case I need it in the morning.
6. I'm here in my warm room, doing INTERNET! I don't yet have it yet in my home in Omaha. That should be installed on Friday.
Thanks for the many who have been following my adventures from the Equator to the snow storms of the Midwest. After finishing my trip to Omaha tomorrow I hope to stay put for awhile. No trips!!
