Moving To Michigan FINISHED

We were up early the next morning to get on the road and get to Michigan. It was going to be another long, long day of driving, but that just meant that we were almost there. So we left Concordia, MO, and drove for about 1 hour when it all came to a halt. Out of the back tires of the pick up came clouds of black smoke. I radioed Vaughn to pull off the road and we followed after him. Once we were stopped we found that it wasn't the tires smoking, but the back breaks. And if that wasn't bad enough, my car started smoking as well. So we took the next exit off the road and tried to find a mechanic shop. We found a car auction place and talked to a guy in there. He pointed us back on the interstate back to Columbia, MO. We got back on the interstate just fine, the only problem was that we were going about 20 miles an hour and everyone else was going 75. We had 5 miles to get over into the far left lane to exit the interstate towards a Big O Tire shop. We made the first 3 lanes but the 4th one was a bit tricky and we almost missed the exit. Vaughn finally just pulled out in front of a diesel and I thought for sure he was going to get T-boned. I screamed. Somehow the diesel missed him and we got off the interstate. AHHHH!!!

We pulled into the Big O Tire place and found out that the back breaks on the truck were shot. So they needed to be replaced. The funny thing is the drive line was unhooked and so the breaks shouldn't have even engaged, but for some strange reason they did. Just our luck!

So while Vaughn waited for them to fix those, I found a Ford dealership to see what was wrong with my car. I found out that there was a recall on a seal to the transmission fluid and it needed to be replaced. They had all the parts to fix it but it might be a day to fix it. I almost sat down and cried. I explained that I was moving to Michigan and that I had to be there the next day to move into my new apartment. They must have felt sorry for me and said they would do everything possible to get it fixed that day. (Hey, whatever works).

This all happened at 9 am and we didn't leave Columbia until 4pm. But we did leave that day with everything fixed and ready to go.

Some where along the way we crossed the Missouri River and it is a lot bigger than rivers in the West. Of course we were in the car and so this is the best shot I got of the river. We soon came to the city of St. Louis and it was still rush hour traffic, which is slit-your-wrists-dead-lock traffic. Now picture us trying to maneuver a U-haul pulling a truck through that. Not pretty at all!!Here is the great arch that separates the East from the West of the United States. I thought it was cool. If we wouldn't have been so pressed for time, we could have gone up inside of it. Pretty Cool huh?This was a nicer part of St. Louis that we saw. Like the paint job. (I was glad to get out of that city) Here is a shot of the Mississippi River, again a HUGE river, that we crossed. It was amazing to see how big it was. I got a better picture this time around. We drove and drove and drove and, finally exhaustion overtook us and we pulled off in Terre Haute, IN. We found a Hampton Inn and I didn't care what the cost was. I wanted to sleep in a nice place with a nice breakfast. Although I didn't know it came with an early morning wake up call.......an earthquake. Yes, at 5:45 am, of course we were on the 6th floor of the hotel, and the whole room shook as if a child had a hold of the building and it was made of Legos. I honestly thought my time was up. But then it stopped for about 10 seconds and started again. We were all up at this point in time and no one could go back to sleep. (Come to find out the earthquake was 60 miles away) What a deal! With a good breakfast in our stomachs we headed on the road and were determined to get to Michigan today!!Somewhere along the way we drove onto a toll road. Here is a picture of the pay station. I thought it was kind of neat. The road was clean, and very well kept. And it only cost us 3 bucks to ride on it. Not bad!

We got through Indianapolis, IN, without any traffic trouble, (what a miracle), and I was navigating. Not a good idea. I had us headed towards Ohio instead of up to Michigan. I realized this about 5 miles out of Indianapolis and we were able to correct my mistake before it was a major event. The rest of the drive was uneventful. We got through the state of Indiana and into Michigan and found our way into Auburn Hills, but then we couldn't find the entrance to our apartments. We drove pass it several times until we realized where it was. YES WE MADE IT!! Checking in was a breeze and waiting for us at our new home was our friends the Updikes. Wes helped Vaughn unload the U-haul in record time while Jenny took the kids to a park. We then went to dinner with them and then I was ready to collapse. We got back to our new home, put the beds together and left the rest for the next day.It has been three wonderful weeks here in Auburn Hills, MI and I love it. We live in such a nice community, with a safe place to walk every morning and with about every store imaginable within 5 minutes of us. It is great and we love it here. Vaughn is enjoying working at Providence Hospital and Tyson and I are learning all about driving in 4 lanes of traffic. HA HA HA It is great!A special thanks to Vaughn's mom. Thanks Sue. We couldn't have made it here without you!!