Most of the time we like the unknown like exploring a new mountain, camping on a lake way out in the boonies or eating in a Mom and Pop type restaurant off the beaten path. But sometimes we like the familiar and that is why we like Flying J truck stops.

After a recent long day’s drive we stopped at the Flying J in South Beloit, Illinois because we seek out Flying J’s. Some people frequent McDonald’s for the familiar, but we hate poor service, dried out burgers and tough French fries so we skip Micky Dee’s. And Flying J is on a different level than McDonald’s.

We pulled into the RV pumps and called inside to let them know we needed propane. Within a minute a man appeared and started filling our LP tank. The price was lower than most places and they gave us a 5 cent a gallon discount with our free Flying J Rewards Card. We filled the diesel tank with over 100 gallons of fuel and they had competitive prices, but gave us another 1 1/2 cents off per gallon.

After parking Linda did some shopping inside their store and on presenting our Flying J card they gave her $1 off her purchases. Next we ate buffets in their restaurant and they gave us a 10% discount for being senior citizens and an additional $3 off for our Flying J card.

This was a newer truck stop with several long pull-thru parking spaces in front and to the right of the restaurant and quite a distance from the trucks. We decided to spend the night, free of course, and had a relaxing night watching satellite TV, surfing the interest with our air card and taking long hot showers before going to bed. Before leaving the next morning we emptied the motorhome’s holding tanks in their dump station - free of course. The next day at another Flying J, Linda got a 20 oz cup of coffee and asked if it was free since we bought over 100 gallons of fuel the day before. The woman swipped our card, looked at our purchases and said, "Sure its free - you spent a lot of money on fuel yesterday."

All together we spent $382.53, but we got several discounts, and camping and dumping was free. So it was a Win - Win situation for both us and Flying J and the friendly folks at Flying J told us to have a good day and come back again.