We have made it safely back to Virginia Beach. Total trip mileage was just under 2300 miles.
The tour at Airstream was very good, though I did see a few things that made me go hmmm. Service was outstanding. Got all my little warranty issues fixed up and had them run the Seal-Tec leak checker on it. My tech, Bill, only found a few minor spots, none that would normally leak in the rain, however, but he sealed them up. Got topped off on LP and stayed that night at the Terraport. Bill did say mine was the first ProPride 3P hitch he had seen.
Wednesday morning we got up and got on the road for Detroit. Got there just before noon and found a place on the street to park near Slows BBQ. Good food, if you are ever in the area, stop and try it.
Next up was the Henry Ford Museum. Huge place, lots to see, and would probably take all day to do it. We saw what we could in 2 hours. They did have a few vintage travel trailers, one a 49 Airstream. Looked real good.
Then we were off to East Lansing, MI to see my old friend Sonny. We spent about a year together in Afghanistan, so we sat around talking about old times and telling lies.
That night was frigid, and it snowed. The next morning we got ready, said our goodbyes and we were off to Springfield. The roads were initially clear, however, that didn't last. About 20 miles into the trip we hit snow and ice covered interstate. Not good. Combined with the 40 knot cross winds made for treacherous conditions. I can't say enough good things about the ProPride hitch. I am quite certain without it, we'd still be in a ditch in the middle of Michigan. The snow and ice lasted a little over 100 miles. With the PP hitch, good tires, 4-digg, and smooth driving I was able to keep everything on the straight and narrow. We saw numerous jacknifed semis, flipped and spun out SUVs, cars etc. We were able to maintain 35-45mph depending on the conditions. I tried to stay in the left lane as it was more snow than ice, which in my experience improves traction. A 6hr trip took about 10hrs, and by the time we got to springfield (around 1730 local), the chili parlor was closed. They are apparently open from 1100-1600. Who the heck closes a restaurant at 1600!
To say I was dissappointed is an understatement, but we made the best of it and went to another Man Vs Food location on Rt 66 called Cozy Dog Drive In. Apparently they are the inventor of the corn dog. The food was good, though nothing to write home about. After dinner, which was about 2000, we got on the road again and made it to just past Indianapolis by midnight, where we fueled up and parked next to the semis to get some shut-eye in the airstream. By 0800 the next morning we were back on the road. Nothing eventful happened and we arrived back at my home in Virginia Beach 13hrs later.
Sonny's home, East Lansing, MI
Interstate between East Lansing and Chicago
Rest Area
Flipped van
Fueling up, the snow was coming in sideways, and brutally cold
The entire trip, other than at the Airstream Factory, I never saw another Airstream on the road.
Now to unpack and get the loads of salt and dirt off the truck and trailer. That's gonna take a while.
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