The Motor Maids convention 2017 is in East Peoria. We got a fairly early start today and plan to take three days to make the trip.

Beth led the way up I-75. That highway is just crazy. It’s three lanes almost all the way to Atlanta. People in the middle lane do the speed limit while people in the other lanes speed, pass on the right, and dodge in and out. We tried to go with the flow, but didn’t try to compete with the cars doing 90.

We had lunch at a rest area in Georgia. Beth fixed sandwiches and peanut butter-celery sticks.

Beth discovered a picnic cooler at the Aldi grocery store. It’s designed like carry-on luggage with wheels and a telescoping handle. The plastic bin inside makes it easy to use ice to keep things cold.

It fits on her back seat perfectly.

We got to our destination early, so we went to Walmart to pick up a few things. Notice how nasty the picnic table is above. We got a couple of washable placemats for our picnics.

We went for a swim at the hotel, but cut short our swim to cover the bikes just before the rain came through.

The storm was short, the sky cleared, and remaining clouds decorated the sky.

We covered 475 miles today. This is the first time in a long time that we have stopped at 3:30 p.m. Last year our first day was 700 miles; that was 100 miles too far. The southern heat and humidity in July is oppressive. We decided to take an extra day this year and shorten each leg. It’s a good decision; we are rested this evening and enjoying “American Pickers” on TV.

A few weeks ago we saw a segment on a travel show featuring the Dutch Maid Bakery in Tracy City, TN. It’s just a few miles off I-24, so tomorrow we are going to go see it and have brunch.