#18 - Saturday, 28 January 2017 | Macon, Georgia

1/26 - Hoffman Estates, IL to Bowling Green, KY

Total Miles: 432.6
Time on Road: 7:56 (time for repair 2:00+)

1/27 - BG to Macon, GA

Total Miles: 382.5
Time on Road: 7:22

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Happy birthday to my sister Erika! 
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Yesterday was a bit more adventure than I had hoped for. I headed out the door of Bowling Green, Kentucky's Country Inn & Suites and climbed in the rig. I began to pull away and heard an odd noise. Then a guy came running alongside me shouting. My Wheelhouse had a flat. It's a tandem axle trailer so with three good wheels it took a moment to notice, but sure enough the right rear tire of the trailer was on the rim. Fortunately I had only driven about 100 yards. I have multiple road assistance plans and called Coach-Net, which is owned by Coachmen RV, the manufacturer of The Wheelhouse. Two hours and zero dollars later my spare had been installed by someone other than me. I could have done it faster myself, I suppose, but I was in no hurry and you have to take advantage of the things you pay for. 

Valuable Lesson Learned: When I had a bass boat I was very good at checking everything before driving away. I would inspect tires, wheels, tie-downs, etc. You never know when something may go wrong or some punk/prankster/vandal might do something like remove straps or loosen winch. This morning I did a thorough walk-through using my RV checklist to ensure all doors and hatches were locked and the tires and hitch were perfect.

Thankfully the drive to Macon, Georgia was fairly uneventful, but I was behind my usual schedule and ran smack dab into Atlanta's evening rush hour. It was after 8 pm by the time I returned to the Best Western Riverside Inn in Macon where I had stayed last week. No, I didn't sleep in the RV. The weather has cooled in the southeast and it won't be until I hit Florida today that I'll finally sleep in the Wheelhouse. In addition to the chilly night here (about freezing), my RV floor is covered with boxes to unpack so it will be a project to "move in". I will do that barefoot in shorts and T-shirt somewhere.

My rig is about 53' long ... the trailer alone is 53' behind this Freightliner