Sunday, September 14, 2025 – First Travel Day, Flat Tire, Long Day

Hi Darlin',
As I've said many times before, one reason I hate to travel on Sundays is because it's harder to get services, so naturally, today I needed services. I woke up before my alarm, had breakfast, got everything packed, dumped my black water, said my good-byes, and was on the road before 8:45 this morning. I neglected to double-check my route on Truckrouter.com and regretted it. The first clue came when it tried to make me turn down a road with a 10'1" overhead clearance (not a chance!) so I kept going straight, and it looked like a pretty good route that led me straight to I-78, but two miles before that interchange, I had to go down a hill so steep and curvy that my truck brakes were literally smoking by the time I reached the bottom, even with fully functional trailer brakes (and I used the emergency switch on those a couple of times.) At the bottom was a one lane bridge with a 10 ton limit, but I've been over those before. I had to sit through a couple of those, though, to let my brakes cool off, because they were just about gone by the time I got to the bottom. I managed to make it over the bridge and to the highway, where things smoothed out a bit, until I blew a tire in Maryland. Grrr. Good thing I had my trusty impact wrench and Jiffy Jack ready to go, I managed to switch out the spare in less than twenty minutes. Got back on the road, but I wasn't real comfortable with the condition of my spare, so I called around and managed to find a place near my destination that had a tire the right size, though it was a bit expensive. I didn't want to take the chance of traveling another 300 miles tomorrow without a spare. I was particularly disappointed when I saw the tire that blew was only about 14 months old! I arrived at the tire place just after 4:00, and got that job started (I did most of the work, except for mounting the new tire on the rim), but they charged with nearly $400! And he claimed to give me $50 off when I pointed out the tire was already four years old, despite the fact he was selling it as "new." He also charged me a half hour of labor $72.50, rather than a mounting fee. So suffice to way, while I was grateful I was able to get a tire on a Sunday, I paid dearly for the privilege. The same tire on Simple Tire, my usual tire source, was $184, so yeah, not that happy a camper. I finally arrived at Lazy Acres in Lexington, VA just after 5:00, met my host David, got the horses tucked away in a nice paddock, and settled in for the night. I didn't need stalls or electric, so the charge was "only" $70, which I guess is the going rate, but seems a lot when compared to most of the types of campgrounds where I usually stay. Can't be helped though, I had to split the travel into two days, especially considering the circumstances! Tired, hot and ready for my shower and bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!