Catching Up after Ohio

The weather guessers are saying we may get snow flurries this afternoon. (Or not.) We may awaken tomorrow to freezing drizzle. (Or not.) Sure makes it hard to plan anything. I would just as soon stay home as go out in the slithery damp.
We have been back from Ohio for 10 days. It was one of those trips I refer to as "Adventures". We stopped at the St. Louis Arch. My first time to get to see it up close.
Having already planned to stop for the night once we reached Indiana, our decision was reinforced with hitting a road hazard, which punctured the sidewall of the front tire. The time zone changes at the Illinois/ Indiana State line. We were barely short of the line.
Tom got the car safely off I-70 and into a gas station parking lot just as dusk was falling. We unloaded the trunk (including our huge tent!) to discover Sam's vehicle is equipped with a donut. Which needed air. And his jack was missing the crank handle.
We discovered the gas station is quite proud of their air pump. Two dollars in quarters were scrounged between us. Tom got the donut aired, and improvised a jack handle crank with a nut driver from the tool box. (This is the man who once saved the day by airing a flat tire with aerosol Right Guard deodorant!)
The trunk was repacked, with the flat tire down in the tire well, and all our baggage (including the tent!) back on top. We limped into the nearest town off this exit. It had already rolled up its sidewalks for the night. I suggested we might find a Walmart with a Tire & Lube Express, which usually are open until 8 or 9 pm. This town wasn't big enough for WalMart.
There is no "hurry" with a donut.
We headed east on I-40. The slower pace and less traffic was a good thing in our situation. A gorgeous, golden, full moon rose directly ahead of us.
I spotted the bright lights of a city just to our north. There was a WALMART! A quick circle of the building surprised several employees. We stopped to ask about their TLE.
We had found a Walmart Super Center that did NOT have a tire center. The town was so close to Indiana, the employees said the nearest tire shop would be in Terre Haute. Back to I-40 we went. As previously noted, the time zone changes at the state line. It was well after 9:30 when we reached Terre Haute, Indiana. The WalMart was located, its TLE closed for the night. We found a motel room (Motel 6. Low Rates for a Good Reason!) Then set off to feed our tummies.
We found a Popeye's Chicken nearby. Its dining room was already closed, but the drive through had another 25 minutes. The car ahead of us was full of "clowns". (That's as nice as I can be. I am not fond of clowns.) They were shouting at the Order Menu, so we could hear them. They asked for tacos. Then other food items that one does not get at a chicken restaurant. After 10 minutes (TEN. MINUTES.) of ridiculous nonsense, the car pulled around to the pick-up window. We placed our order and pulled around the building as well. The "clowns" continued their antics. Held out money to the drive through clerk- a kid who was ready to close up shop for the night. As the kid reached out, the driver played games. Yanked the money back, held it high, held it low, waggled it back and forth. Repeatedly. The kid finally just closed the window. The clown car pulled forward, then the driver hung half out the window, shouting back at the kid. He got back in, backed up to the window (leaving the car in REVERSE!) The kid opened the window, and the guy started to hand in the money. Another wig-wag. The kid went to shut the window, and the clown finally hands over the money. He got his food- as he reached for it, finally realized he was still in Reverse! and put it to park as he sat there handing food and drinks to his fellow clowns.
We collected our food and went to the motel to eat. The kid had been so distracted, we didn't get eating utensils and had to improvise to have our coleslaw, and rice.
The motel room had ONE bath towel. (Tom had paid for two adults and a child, we didn't try sneaking any of us in!) The beds were clean, but about the worst I have ever tried to sleep on. (They rivaled the upstairs mattresses at Dad's house!) Sleep was reluctant to tarry, as tired as we all were.
The next morning, we loaded early and went to Walmart TLE. We got the trunk unloaded (Including our huge tent!) and dug out the tire. Put all the baggage back into the car and headed inside. An employee saw us coming, before we reached the entrance. He looked at the tire and told us they can't fix a hole in the sidewall. I already knew that! But he sent us down the road to a competitor, that he assured us fixes holes in tire sidewalls.
The trunk was unloaded. (Did I mention we had a huge tent in there?) Tire put back in the tire well. Trunk reloaded. Back up the road to Tire King, purported fixxer of sidewall punctures.
It wasn't yet open.
We spent the next while unloading the trunk and digging out the tire, and putting the baggage back into the car. Want to guess? Tire King also Cannot Fix Sidewall Punctures. That's Ok. We bought a new tire, and the really terrific folks at Tire King opened the door for us early. One last unloading/ reloading of the trunk to put the donut back into its place, and we were on our way.
It was a good visit, though we didn't get to do any of the fun stuff I had hoped to do, such as hiking or attending the Pumpkin Show.
And the tent never left the trunk again until we arrived home.