Ocotber 9, 2011

We arrived at our house after taking the 2pm ferry on Thursday, October 6. We were glad to be home and we had a wonderful trip. We drove a little over 8,600 miles, traveled through and/or stayed in 25 states, not counting Washington, and created a lot of wonderful memories. We had a tremendous time and lots of fun with Barb and Dick. We were fortunate to have spent some time with Carol Kodiak and Chad and Jennifer and Jackson. We enjoyed a couple of great evenings with Shelane and Andy and Harley. We were thrilled to have spent several hours with Scott and Beth in Cincinnati and to eat at a Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives place with them, Terry's Turf Club. They are such gracious hosts! Such fun! Rose and Barb became experts at searching for hotels on Trip Advisor and scoping out the best places to stay. They were equally adept at steering us away from not-so-good places, like the Provincetown Inn... We were a week or two early to see the spectacular colors, so we just saw the beautiful colors. Together we saw the covered bridges in Indiana, Falling Water in Pennsylvania, Greenbrier in West Virginia, Lexington Virginia, Gettsyburg Pennsylvania, Cape Cod and Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, and all places in between. The four of us ate fresh lobster at a Hyannis restaurant called Spanky's. We even drove through Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel as I took a wrong turn. Rose and Barb steered us to various Starbucks across the country so we could buy the collector city mugs. They would look online, find Starbucks stores, and call and see if they had mugs. They were successful and we purchased Indianapolis, Ohio, Boston, New York, and Pittsburgh. We had lots of fun with that. When we were by ourselves Rose and I had a great time enjoying the vast splendor of our country. From the high plaines of western Montana to the lush valleys of the Adirondacks we were constantly amazed and surprised by a never-ending display of beauty and history. We visited the Little Big Horn, Mount Rushmore, crossed the Missouri and Mississippi in the same day, cruised the Wisconsin river in Wisconsin Dells, saw LL Bean in Freeport Maine, walked along the Erie Canal on the path used by oxen to pull the boats, stood at the overlook and marveled at the power of Niagara Falls, counted one-hundred trillion corn stalks through Iowa and Nebrasks, pretty much followed the Oregon Trail through Wyoming on US Rt. 30/I-80, were stunned by the beauty of the Snake River Gorge at Twin Falls, and finally were reminded of the beauty of Washington state as we drove along the Columbia on our way to East Wenatchee on the way home. We picked Annie up on Friday and she was glad to see us, and we her. If we don't stay in a hotel room for a while, it will be OK with us! Thanks for following along on our trip.

October 4, 2011

Close to home now, staying in Pendleton, OR and traveling to East Wenatchee tomorrow to spend a day and night with the East Wenatchee Murphys, then on the Guemes on Thursday. We'll pick up Annie Friday morning and settle in for a weekend of washing clothes and becoming reacquainted with our island home. Our contractor should have the inside completed, and we are excited to see it done. We had a great drive today and really enjoyed western Idaho and eastern Oregon, with a few showers once in a while. We visited the Pendleton Woolen Mill shop and were disappointed to find very high prices and very few bargains. We were also disappointed to find we had missed the last tour of the Mill by 30 minutes, but such is life. I also had great news today as I had asked Dick to do me a favor, and he is getting it done Thursday. Thanks Dick! My next blog may be from our home after we have had a few days to settle in...or, I may write one tomorrow night..who knows???

October 3, 2011

We drove past Cheyenne last night and stayed in Laramie, WY. We simply weren't ready to stop at Cheyenne. We left early today and decoded to drive to Ogden, UT. As we got close to Ogden we decided to go farther and tonight we are staying in Twin Falls, ID. We saw some of the most beautiful scenery as we entered Utah on I-80 and we had seen hundreds of Pronghorn Antelope through Wyoming. We were fortunate to have missed several big thunderstorms as we drove along but it is raining now as we sitnin the lobby sipping a nightcap watching the baseball game and the rain pelt the windows. It is nice that Rose is such a great driver as I was able to catch a nap in the car today while she drove. Tomorrow our plan is to get to Pendleton, OR and then East Wenatchee, WA on Wednesday. We hope to tour the Pendleton factory tomorrow. Home on Thursday is looking pretty good. We have had a great time and seen a lot, like the Snake River Gorge right here in Twin Falls, but we are missing our island home.

October 2, 2011

I realized this morning that I have missed a couple of days of blogging, so I thought I would try to catch up as Rose drives. We left Toledo Friday morn and headed towards Il. Raining, of course, and very windy. An employee at a rest stop told us there were 60 mph winds from Gary to South Bend and the state police were prohibiting some vehicles from traveling I90. We had intended to get off in South Bend anyway to get the boys t-shirts, so we did, and we even got a glimpse of the golden dome. I decided to stay south so we took 31 south to US 6 and drove west on that for a while and then dropped down to US 30. It was really a thrill to be on these "blue highways" if only for a little while. I remember my Dad taking me to a ND game one cold November day and we drove all the way there and back on one of those two routes. It would be fun to take 30 from coast to coast but it would probably take a year... We got to Barb and Dick's late Friday, had a great dinner and visited with Shelane,Andy, and Harley. dick fixed a wonderful breakfast Sat morning and then we were off. We had intended to drive to Des Moines Iowa but found we wanted to go further and ended up last night in Omaha, Nebraska at a very nice Hilton Garden Inn. We had drinks and pizza (no doubt the cause of my forgetting to blog) and got a good nights sleep. We left early tis morning, stopped and had a breakfast sandwich at McDs, and hit the road. We intend to at least get as far as Cheyenne, WY today, and maybe farther. Weather the last two days has been spectacular, clear skies, no wind or rain. Iowa and Nebraska certainly live up to their reputations as "corn country!" I am sure we have seen several trillion corn stalks, but we are impressed with the sheer magnitude of it all. I think we'll get a Nebraska, corn-fed steak tonight. My mouth is watering already!

September 29, 2011

Left Victor, NY at 9 am and drove to Niagara Falls. The last time we were there was 1971 in February in the midst of a terrible snow storm. We could hardly see the Falls then due to the wind and ice coming from the mist of the Falls. Barb and Dick were with us then and we came to Buffalo for the 50th wedding anniversary of Rose and Barb's great Aunt and Uncle. Today there was no snow and no rain, and we had a wonderful time! The Falls are spectacular and we were thrilled to be there. By the time we left it was almost noon and we headed off to Toledo, OH. We drove into the parking lot of our hotel, the Hampton Inn, at 6pm. We had stopped a couple of times and ran into severe rain at times so the going was slower than we expected. We also ran into miles and miles of highway renovation, also slowing us down. I had forgotten how many big trucks use 90 and 80 and I long for the open roads of S. Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. Although, through of the bigger downpours I followed a very large Fed Ex truck and he helped me get through the worst of the weather. Tomorrow we are off to Oswego to see Barb and Dick one more time, and then hit the road for home either on 90 or 80. I am leaning towards 80 as we took 90 on the way here. We'll see...

September 28, 2011

We were sad to drop Barb and Dick off at Logan, International Airport in Boston yesterday but We were grateful for almost two wonderful weeks together! We were reminded how great it is to talk and laug together. We'll have to do it again sometime! After we left Boston we headed north to Freeport, ME. We drove through New Hampshire to get to Maine and found out that NH has state liqour stores, and they have prices that rival California's! Of course we stopped and bought some bourbon. We arrive in Freeport, ME close to 2 PM and immediately did the tour of LL Bean. It is quite a store and open 24 hours a day every day of the year but Christmas! After a bit we decided we did't want to stay in Freeport but that we wanted to start for home. I think the we felt a bit lonely without Barb and Dick, and we were getting a bit homesick. So we turned around and headed for I - 90 westbound. Last night we stayed in Hanson, MA at a Holiday Inn Express...not good. Tonight we are in Victor, NY in a Hampton Inn and it is very nice. After we checked in today we left for Pittsford, NY to see the Erie Canal. It was raining a bit but we had fun walking the path that used to be the path used by horses, mules, and oxen as they pulled the barges from the Hudson to Lake Erie, and back. On the way back to the Hampton Inn it was raining so hard that I could hardly see. It was raining harder than it did at Gettysburg!! When we got back to the hotel we decided to order in... We are tired and ready to head to Ohio tomorrow, with a side trip to Buffalo,if the weather permits. We saw a lot of incredible colors all along the trip today and into Maine yesterday. It is hard to imagine the beauty of NY state when all you really see is NY City. Fortunately, we have seen it all...

September 26, 2011

Nantucket yesterday, Martha's Vineyard today! Two great days on Cape Cod! Took the fast ferry to Nantucket, the slow ferry to Martha's Vineyard. Both were wonderful. Had lunch at really cool places on both islands. Walked a lot, saw a lot, had a wonderful time! Sad day tomorrow as Barb and Dick fly back to Chicago while Rose and I travel to Maine. We have had such a great time together, enjoying the sights and laughing at Dancing With The Stars. The time has gone too fast...we'll have to do it again some day. Rose and I are thinking we'll spend just a little time in Maine and then head home. We'll see as we haven't made any decisions yet as to our final travel plans. Stay tuned!