Downpour Leads to Windshield Wiper Chaos - Monday, July 9, 2018, Part 1

Monday was the day to prepare for my next trip with Susan Medlin (on Tuesday!). I had a doctor's appointment and two stops to make at grocery stores. We planned to take my car because she had been taking hers on most of our trips together lately. I had been to Costco for two new tires the week before and got an oil change at my mechanic as well. 

I also wanted to get a physical to make sure I was in good health. My previous doctor retired over a year ago and it was finally time to find a new one. We have UHC health insurance. They have a great website where you can find a doctor and see reviews. That's how I found my previous doctor, who retired after I saw him twice. Sigh.

Anyway, I found a doctor on the website and went to see her on Monday. I was a new patient, so there was lots of paperwork to fill out. While I was in the examining room, I heard massive amounts of rain hitting the building. I love my new doctor, by the way. I'm pretty healthy, so I only need to get my lab work and bone density scan done when I return from the trip.

After the appointment, the street outside the doctor's office had rivers of water running along both curbs. Carefully, I drove through the deeper spots and avoided the outer lanes where all the water was flowing. The downpour was mostly over and I only had to deal with light rain. However, I noticed my windshield wipers were leaving big streaks across my windshield. It had been a while since I had replaced them.

After a trip to Walmart and Costco, I pulled in to Pep Boys to find the right windshield wipers. The guy behind the counter looked up my Escape on the computer and picked out the correct windshield wipers for my car. Pep Boys has free windshield wiper installation, so I sat in my car while the technician put the new ones on. I noticed as I was sitting there, that a small plastic piece broke off one of the new windshield wipers.

I waited to see if he would confess to breaking it. He finished with that wiper and got ready to put in the other one. I got out of the car and said, "What is that small piece of plastic on my hood?" He acted like he hadn't seen it at all, but looked a little sheepish when I asked him. He said it was one of the tabs that hold it in that had broken off. I told him I would need a new windshield wiper because we were going to Minnesota and North Dakota and I didn't want my windshield wiper coming off in a big rainstorm.

He gave me the packaging and the broken wiper. I took it back in the store and they traded it for a new one. 

After he installed both wipers, he asked me to test them. I sprayed the windows with washer fluid and turned on the wipers. The wipers did not get the water off the windshield in the line of sight for the driver or the passenger. The rest of the windshield was free of water, just not the areas where we needed to see! I told him that wouldn't work. He said to take them in and get another kind.

Someone else helped me. She asked me if I had a 4- or 6-cylinder engine. I don't know why that made a difference. Anyway, I asked her if they had Bosch wipers that fit my Escape because that's what I had on it before. She found the right size wipers and I paid the price difference. 

The technician put on the new wipers with no problems. When I tested those wipers, they worked perfectly. 

I must say, Pep Boys handled the issues well and there were no problems switching wiper blades out. They have always done a good job for me there, but I think the first guy who helped me just didn't pick out the right wipers.

On Tuesday morning, I was at Susan's house to pick her up at 6:10 a.m. We wanted to get out of San Antonio before rush hour. Bob met us at Costco near his work to loan me a hotspot for me to connect to the computer when I travel. That way I can work on my blog! Thanks, Bob, for doing that. I know you had a busy morning.

And off we went. Our route was north on I-35 to Buda, Texas, where we got on the 45 Toll Road to the 130 Toll Road around Austin. The speed limit is 80 on the toll road and we avoided the Austin rush-hour traffic. We reconnected with I-35 at Georgetown. 

We saw many speed traps and people getting pulled over on I-35 north of Georgetown all the way up to where I-35 split into East and West (south of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex). Go the speed limit through there because Smokeys were everywhere. 10-4, good buddy.

Rest areas have interesting information about the local area. The one we stopped at near Ft. Hood had info on the Chisholm Trail, Warriors and Warbler, I-35, and the Jarrell Tornado in May 1997. The historical markers are below if you're interested.

About birds at Ft. Hood

The Jarrell Tornado, May 27, 1997

History and significance of interstate 35

The Chisholm Trail

Lunch was at What-A-Burger and a few hours later we had Blizzards at Dairy Queen. We arrived in Joplin, Missouri, about 5:30 p.m., checked into our hotel, and had dinner at Cracker Barrel.

We decided to do our Volksmarch this evening at Wildcat Glades Conservation Park. That way we could get an early start on tomorrow's drive.

The temperature was 87 degrees and it was humid. 

To be continued in Part 2...

En Route to See Our Winter Texan Friends - Wed., July 11, 2018

From Joplin, Missouri, we headed north on our way to Eagan, Minnesota. On the way, we stopped in Owatonna, Minnesota, to see our friends, Jyl E. and Dave N. who are Winter Texans at Traveler's World RV Resort in San Antonio, Texas. During the summer, they live at Mankato Lake, Minnesota, about 45 minutes from Owatonna. 

As an aside, when I started working at Traveler's World, the staff kept talking about the return of the Winter Texans. I had never heard that term and gleaned that it meant "snowbirds," which is the only term I had heard before for northerners traveling south for the winter.

The day was beautiful and warm. Scenery included rolling hills, wind farms, and crop farms. We just rolled on by the larger cities and kept on going, stopping only for rest areas, gas stations, and lunch. Every time we got out of the car our legs were stiff from inactivity and it took us a few seconds to get our legs moving.

At 4:00 p.m., we had a message from Dave that they were inside Cabela's, our pre-arranged meeting place. Our timing was perfect. We had arrived at 3:50 p.m. and were outside taking photos of the massive sculpture of two deer.

"Autumn Legends," by Dick Idol

Plaque about "Autumn Legends" and Dick Idol

 Once we knew Dave and Jyl were inside, we walked in to meet them. 

Susan and I hanging out with wild animals.

Jyl, Dave, and me

Can't forget the cold weather beasts.

After introductions, photo taking, and checking out Cabela's, Dave purchased his items. Then we headed over to Timberlodge Restaurant for dinner. 

Susan M. heading into Timberlodge Restaurant.

At dinner, we had time to get to know Dave and Jyl better. Both grew up in Minnesota. They worked at IBM and that's where they met. Jyl was interested in Volksmarching and we explained it to her. She will walk with us when they return to San Antonio. We look forward to it, Jyl!

Dave and Jyl at Timberlodge in Owatonna, MN.

Dinner was very nice. it would have been fun to see where they live, but we were on a tight schedule. After dinner, Susan and I were off to Eagan, MN, to spend the night. 

Timberlodge's bear

Susan and the bear

Tomorrow, we will do the state capital walk in St. Paul. The forecast calls for thunderstorms; we'll see how it goes. I'm looking forward to seeing the Quadriga at the capitol. More about that tomorrow.