Today I frantically prepared for the chase trip. It took a few hours to get the van organized and ready for two (maybe three) laptops to run simultaneously, iPod/MP3 player to hook up for passengers, seats to be set up for four people and their luggage to move in comfort, etc.
By mid-afternoon, all that remaining was:
- Find my binoculars – did this later
- Find the spare van key – found in one of my lockboxes after the third try – it was hiding!
- Obtain an iGo adapter for Scott’s Dell D600 – I set up an inverter, but it failed to output an voltage for the laptop – we used Scott’s inverter, but sacrificed power for half the gadgets in the front console
Tomorrow, here in Coralville, Iowa, I’ll do a bit of re-wiring to get everything working at once. The good news is that despite these minor setbacks, everybody arrived safely and on-time, and we are in a good position to chase storms in central Iowa tomorrow. It will even be a short drive (compared to the 1200 mile day that kicked off my 2007 season)
ESTIMATED TRAVEL
| START TIME | START ODOM. | START LOC. |
|---|---|---|
| 5/24/2008 2230 est | 4995 | Home, Bolingbrook, IL |
| FINISH TIME | FINISH ODOM. | FINISH LOC. |
| 5/25/2008 01:27 | 5192 | Days Inn, Coralville, IA |
| ELAP. TIME | MILES TTL. | REMARKS |
| 2:57 est | 197 | Positioning day |
GENERAL NOTES:
- Travel ties are based on motel check-in/check-out times, as motel receipts record these times, as a rule. Less recordkeeping, more fun!
- Actual odometer reading are use wehnever practical. Street Atlas 2009 will be used to estimate miles (via actual route or best recollection of that route) on days where odometer readings are missed.