After many more cock-ups and frustrations, we finally left New York on Monday 18th April at 5pm. We couldn't get far but were just relieved to get Foxtrot back - fortunately the container place had a very helpful fork-lift driver who placed the tent back on the roof and Bob tied it on securely'ish.

We filled petrol tank (from pretty much empty) for about 20-quid, which is about 70p a litre! We didn't feel up to putting the tent up and finding all the cooking equipment, so we stopped at a dingy motel and walked to a small proper traditional diner with bar-stools, gingham tablecloths and an all-American waitress - it reminded us of Dex's Diner in Star Wars film.

The next morning, Bob had a bit more time to check Foxtrot over. We decided to 'free camp' that evening at a spot that Bob had found on t'Internet but which had been blocked up so that you couldn't get to it. Further along there was another patch of ground, so we pulled into it, put the tent up and then proceeded to stay awake most of the night, what with passing vehicles, and many and varied unidentifiable noises. It was also freezing and when we got up the following morning Foxtrot was covered in a layer of frost - at least the sleeping bags were warm enough, so that was a good test.

Wednesday 20th April

We were on our way to our first stop - Niagara Falls. Very impressive, wet and loud.

American Falls, Niagara

New York State is surprisingly pretty - we failed to program our Sat-Nav with the correct details, so we saw a lot more of it than we expected. But it was just what we needed, to get used to Foxtrot and all its quirks.

Thursday 21st April

We spent most of the day at Dayton USAF National Air Museum. The place is absolutely enormous with six hangars of aircraft ranging in time from the Wright brothers first attempts, to the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Don't know why Bob found this funny!

We found a campground to spend the night, and picked up one of their directories as they seem to cover much of the U.S. and are very safe.

Friday 22nd April

Back on road to find Indianapolis 500 speedway - it has to be the most non-signposted attraction in the U.S. I was driving and lost confidence in the old Sat-Nav and was convinced we were lost and heading into the dodgy Indianopolis suburbs when we suddenly realised it was at the side of us. All very unimpressive, and as usual with any attraction we visit, they're either under construction, maintenance, or closed.

We've been through a number of different states already, including New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. We decided to find a campground and stay for 2 nights, to give Bob chance to check over how Foxtrot was coping, re-jig all the boxes and contents and try out the awning. Also chance to have a drink and relax.

Foxtrot had so far coped admirably but has been the centre of all the scary, bum-clenching moments we've had so far. First, was when Sheila drove it for the first time - it may be just another vehicle, but it's an absolute pig to drive! It may have 5 gears, but I have been struggling to find any of them successfully (apart from reverse, which has caught out all of the people behind us at lights, junctions, etc). Things are getting easier the more familiar I'm becoming with it, but I had a few scares where I was free-wheeling and could have done with a gear or two!

Second, (and I feel quite smug when I say this) was when Bob pulled out of a junction into an empty road and immediately went for the left side of the road. A quick scream put him right. So we now have a routine at junctions and petrol-stations, where the passenger says 'right-right-right' which has saved us
a few times. Third, the speedo, trip and odometer packed up whilst Sheila was driving - just as well the Sat-Nav has speed on it, but we hadn't worked out how many miles to the tank we were getting and the tank gauge is decidedly flaky. Before we left the UK, we'd run out of petrol on a test-run when the gauge said we had a quarter of a tank and we didn't, so we couldn't trust that. But Bob fixed it perfectly as usual!
Fourth, we stopped at a campground in Minnesota, and after we'd unfurled the tent and settled back for a drink, the lady campsite owner came over and said 'in the event you need to move somewhere, the toilet-block is the most stable structure on-site' and pointed at the angry purple-grey clouds heading our way. The storm hit us at about 19:30 and was non-stop thunder, lightning, wind and torrential rain until about 3am. Neither of us got much sleep and Bob kept having to shake the tent to empty the gallons of water that were collecting there. Our first scary weather-related night indeed.