5/18/2019 It FINALLY happened!! By Sandy

We are in Iowa, driving along a remarkably smooth state road, en route to our factory service appointment for warranty work. Sitting in the navigator’s seat, I realized the 2 lane divided highway we were on had little traffic, and certainly no aggressive drivers. After all, this is Iowa, where the only rush this time of year is to get the fields plowed once they dry out from the endless rains in this area. I thought....Bill might actually give up the drivers seat to me in these gently rolling lands. I mentioned to him “you know, I could drive”. He took his eyes off the road and gave me a good long look to determine if I was serious. I gave him a serious, hopeful face. But this road did not have exits for a rig our size, just local turnoffs. So I waited and he kept quiet, probably trying to assess if he could actually give up the wheel and not have a heart attack with me behind it. Finally 2 gas stations came into view and he pulled off. It was finally my chance to show off my skills. 

After getting adjusted to the seat and all the dash controls, I took off the air brake, pushed the drive button, took a deep breath, and away we went. I felt confident, constantly watching my mirrors to be sure I was in between the white lines. The coach takes up most of the width of the lane. When driving this rig, you practically feel like you’re sitting on top of the white line, but you’re not. I was loving having command of the rig and I think Bill was coping pretty well. I didn’t see any white knuckles on that side of the rig. 

Eventually Bill took over again as we came into the town so he could negotiate the parking, but thank you Iowa for providing the first of many roads I’ll be driving behind the wheel.