We left Cheney on Wednesday. Packed up fairly quickly. Got on I-90 headed west without problem. A few miles down the road, we noticed the ice chest and the outdoor carpet in the bed of the truck were bouncing around. We pulled off so Kim could tie them down with the extra bungee cords we had packed. He went into the 5th wheel to get a few bottles of water for the cab of the truck. Back on the freeway. Oops, left the handrail folded open. Pulled off at the next exit to fix that. Back on the road. Going all, listening to a book on cd. Kim looked back and even though it was tied down, the ice chest was flopping around again. Pulled over again, unhook the ice chest, stow it in the basement. Re-secure the carpet. Back on the road.
We decided to stop and pull into the scenic outlook to the Gingko Petrified Forest just before the bridge at Vantage. Took a stroll down to read the information plaques (affirming that we would meet no rattlesnakes on the trail) and enjoy the lovely view. Back on the road. I suggested stopping at the rest area at Vantage for lunch, but apparently the rest area was moved. As a kid, I had made many trips to Moses Lake and Spokane, and I could have sworn the rest area was right there in Vantage. Whether they moved the rest area, or my memory is faulty (God forbid), it was up at the top of the hill. BTW, this is a very long hill. We had to slow down to about 40-45 mph. Made it to the rest stop. Way too windy to eat outside, so we quickly made some sandwiches and ate in the truck.
Just outside of CleElum, we look back, and the box with the TV satellite is bouncing around in the bed of the truck. Pull over again, at the next exit, get box, put inside of RV. Get back on freeway. Oh oh - looked in the mirror - Handrail is out again. Pull over, again, at the next exit, secure handrail. Vow to make checkoff list for future trips.
We managed to make the rest of the drive without stopping. We are home for 2 weeks, and then head to Blaine/Birch Bay, for our second practice trip.
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