W I N D Y

66 degrees and humid when we hit the road this morning. Quiet Sunday morning drive. Gray skies until we crossed into TX-blue skies and 71 degrees. Had lunch in Amarillo at Jerry's Place. Lots of cars, so it had to be good. It was-Mexican. Then we really hit the wind. Felt like I was on the wooden roller coaster at 6 Flags-head was bouncing around from side to side. Some sand storms around Amarillo. More gas, as we've had a headwind most of the way today. 2 tanks of gas from OK City to Albekwerkie. Lois keeps rolling into towns on fumes....reminds me of Marilyn running the tank dry on the motor home back in '78. But that had a reserve tank on it!

Stopped in Santa Rosa to drive on Rte. 66. Stopped at McD's for ice cream. Ran into Cheryl who used to work in the Cosmo lab. On their way to Phoenix, too.

Made our time change. Stopped early tonight so we can watch the Oscars. Found a good little Chinese restaurant tonight not far from the hotel.

We'll decide in the morning if we're going to be tourists here and check out some areas. Although, it's about 30 degrees here now....

This cross country travel goes much quicker with another driver! We could make it to Mesa tomorrow, but can't check in until Tuesday.

Coming down into the Albuquerque valley

Connections Made Today

Light layer of ice on the windows this morning and 22 degrees. Slow and steady wins the race. Just took our time. No need to join some others in the ditch! After 2 hours, pretty much just wet roads and temperature rising. Made our way south through MO just east of the state line. Met up with Lois' s cousin to transfer the family treasures around 1:30 and 50 degrees. Diana was so excited to receive them and to learn more about her mother's family. She had a pad and pencil to make notes regarding each of the items. Took some "back roads" down to Siloam Springs, AR. We were really in the hills for a while. Neil guided us to his dorm via phone. He met us in the parking lot. We went to a meeting room for him to open his homemade chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. It was so fun to see the excitement in his face and his eyes light up. "That's a lot of cookies!" I had also made 4 pillow cases with black background and psychodelic colored bikes. The Miller families' like biking. He was so appreciative and excited over his gifts from his fairy godmother. His friend Daniel joined us for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Daniel made a good choice. We had a great visit!

We left the guys about 5:45 and Lois guided us to OK City for the night.

Lois and Diana

Neil and Grace

WI, IA and MO

Packed the truck and on the road just after 8 this morning. Stopped at Pilot to fill the tank. Thanks to the latest gas gouging, prices rose 20 cents in the last day. We had no overnight snow, so good roads all day. Got a call from brother Dale to find out where we were. We were about an hour out of Moline. He was waiting to get loaded in Rock Island. We met at "exit 292" Flying J for lunch. We were cheap dates-$10 for all 3 of us for lunch. Dale left to go back to get rid of a pallet of landscape chips to put his load within limit. We headed toward Des Moines. IA did have some slushy snow mix last night. Saw a few vehicles still in the ditches. Made a slight detour north to visit a quilty lady in Nevada. BUT, we need gas before we get there. I put in 17.5 gallons. I think it only holds 18? A check of the owners manual says 20.5.

http://www.blockpartystudios.com/ We see Jeanne often as she is a vendor at a lot of quilt shows. She enjoys our company, as we do hers. She's been working on her breast cancer tour of duty. She has completed chemo and has 2 wks of radiation left. She took the time and made the effort to stop by the store to visit us. She was glad to see us and tell of her journey. We found a "few" pieces of fabric to add to our stashes. Fabric is just like jello. There's always room for fabric! Back on the road around Des Moines. It was light out til almost 6:30. Spending the night in Bethany, MO.
Heading to Pineview, MO (south of Joplin) to meet Lois' 2nd cousin to drop off some family treasures. Then a visit to Siloam Springs, AR to visit my godson Neil.

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go

Bags are packed, waiting by the back door. Socks and Sully will be delivered to their vacation home soon. Heading back to Arizona for some sunshine!

My trip will be different this year and is dedicated to Murphy. I adopted Murphy 4 years ago. He was MY dog and I never doubted he would protect me if need be. He rode shotgun with me last year. Traveling and staying at different places each night was new to him. Once we got to AZ and got settled, he was fine.

Unfortunately, Murphy Brown passed away on July 4. He'd had some exploratory surgery on his knee two days earlier. He had 2 severe seizures and didn't make it until morning. All vets working on his case were as stunned as I was. Time does heal the soul, but I still miss him.

Tomorrow I'll hit the road with my friend Lois riding shotgun who can drive, too, and talk back!

Check in to see what new escapades I can find this year.

Grace