Thursday 4-5

T his would be the day we left the FMCA convention to head north to Wichita, Kansas. This gave us an opportunity to sleep-in and get around at a casual pace. It was nice to not be in a hurry for a change. We had time for another visit to the motorhome display area.

As it would turn out, we were made an offer on a motorhome that we liked. I have to say it was a very good offer, but we just were not ready to change rigs at this time. Kevin also came away from the show without the motorhome he wanted. Now it was time for us to get ready to leave the convention.

There aren’t many advantages to dry camping with one exception; it is easy to break camp. We had successfully lived in our motorhomes without having to take an early trip to the dumpstation. It would be our last stop before getting on the road again.

The dumpstation was located on the opposite side of the fairgrounds from where we were camped. When we arrived at the dumpstation, there was a line of motorhomes forming. We were directed by an FMCA volunteer to drive around to the back of the campground to come around to the end of the line. It was a good thing we were not in a hurry.

As we lined up we found that we were had two rigs in front of us. While waiting for our chance to empty our holding tanks, I talked to Kevin on the CB radio. When our turn came it didn’t take long to finish with the job at hand. When finished, I pulled out on the road and found a place to park next to the road while waiting for Kevin and Tina.

We found out later that Kevin recognized the man in the motorhome behind him. It was the guy whole owned the place, in California, where Kevin and Tina bought there motorhome. When Kevin finished emptying holding tanks, we were free to find our way to the freeway. We were now following the signs that directed us to Wichita.

Tina was driving on this leg of the trip. We chattered on the CB radio while Kevin took a nap in the passenger seat. We were now looking at a very flat countryside. When we passed a roadside parking area, Kay and I remembered the nice family we helped at this location on our trip in 1995. It didn’t take long for us to reach the Kansas border where we entered the Kansas Turnpike.

Welcome to Kansas — The Land of Ahhhs

The turnpike has an interesting way to provide service along the roadway. Instead of having to build bridges, tunnels, or dual facilities, the turnpike has one facility in the middle of the divided highway. The exit and entry back on to the freeway is in the high speed center lane. This makes an economical way to provide complete service to travelers with lower construction costs.

As we approached Wichita, I pulled ahead of Kevin and Tina’s motorhome so I could lead the way to the campground. As we passed their motorhome, Kay took a picture of Tina at the wheel. We were now on a section of I-235 where I pointed out the area that had been hit by a big tornado a few years ago.

That is Truckin’ Tina at the wheel

From I-235, I called Jim to let him know we were about to get to our camping area. Jim told us he was at a baseball game and gave us directions so we could find our way to the game. The RV campground where we would stay while in Wichita was out on west Highway 54. It was a fairly quick process for us to get into camp and get set up. It would be nice to have full hookups again.

After getting set up and disconnecting the car from its tow bar, we were ready to venture out to find a baseball game. It was just after sunset with a lot of light still in the sky when we were in the car and on the road again. Following Jim’s instructions Kevin drove us directly to the baseball park where Steven was playing. The game was already underway when we arrived. Even so, we were able to see a lot of baseball.

That is Steven at bat —- as well as a lot of action on the field

Kay and I found Jim and introduced him to Tina and Kevin. They then found a seat in the bleachers where they had a good view of the game. Kevin and Tina really got into the game and were cheering on Steven’s team as if they were locals. Donna arrived a short time after we had settled in to watch the game. Jim was pacing back and forth like a caged animal. I think he really wanted to be closer to the action.

When the game was over we all climbed into the car and headed back to our motorhomes. It had been another fun and full day.