Thanks for the well-wishes for the trip, everyone. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have worked... we got a flat tire on the PA Turnpike and discovered that it had a puncture. Fortunately, I'd been able to tolerate the bad steering until about a mile from an exit, so we put on the spare (mostly Curt), got a room at the local hotel of my choice, and found an auto service place open late enough to get the tire replaced. That's when the guy showe dus that the valve itself was leaking, which he says may have led to the puncture, so I got that replaced too. So it's been an expensive trip so far, but we set Mom's mind at ease by stopping for the night. The drive tomorrow is less than our usual second-day drive, because we usually stop before the Turnpike if we're going to stop at all. Then again, we haven't had very many uneventful trips home that I can remember... a speeding ticket, a broken axle, total totality, this... not a big deal, though. It gave us the chance to try Long John Silver's flatbread sandwiches. They were okay, but I really don't understand the big deal with flatbread. At least the weather's been nice... considerably warmer than freezing, and light rain when there was rain at all. There were stretches where I could use cruise control.

Now a quick browse of the flist before bed... want to get as early a start as we can, because I don't trust my luck for this trip. Also, free breakfast buffet in a restaurant with TABLECLOTHS. Hence the short jaunt across the highway. I should also reset my tire pressure sensor, but we put the pump back in the spare tire compartment, and I need to make sure all the tires are at the recommended pressure before setting the meter. I'll just deal with the warning light until then. What are the chances TWO tires will have problems on the same trip? (Don't you dare answer that!)