SEE YA LATER

9/7/10
    I thought I would let you all know that we're not just disembodied voices; we are actually along on this trip, and here's proof.
    Enough relaxing, we have to get along the way, and so we say good bye to our friends, old and new and pack up the rig, heading for Omaha and then Chadron State Park.
   Friends are what keep us going, at home and while traveling, and we're very lucky to have such treasures. Meeting people along the way is just as exciting to us as seeing the country, and so here are a few pics of our "finds". 

You've seen them before, but you've not seen their tiny camper. Everything you could hope for an more crammed into a cramped 40 feet of space. We love ours, but we sure do love to get together in theirs!!

Our friends, Doug and Jen, with Ziba ( left) and Kody. What fun we've all had! Kody and Xian have had a great time playing ball-- it's also Kody's favorite thing to do. But, she gives way to Xian and then races alongside barking and nipping at his mouth. She overflows with energy and boundless joy, leaping like a little deer to get the ball and Xian. Sadly, she has a severe heart murmur and is on two meds a day. She's two years old and they cherish every day of her life.  Jennie has a sewing machine in their camper and whips out incredible work with the neatest prints. Dog beds, table runners, welding caps, welding duffles, sweat pants, you name it. We're  going to be trading some wine cups for pillows some time in the near future.

Last but not least, is little Ava, Jennie's grand daughter, who made friends with Xian immediately. Xian loves kids and seems to know not to grab the ball and not to jump up. Kids come out of the woodwork when he's around.
  And so, goodbye to Rock Island and onto the road.

MORE FOOD AND FRIENDS

9/6
 A couple of lazy days, spending time with Sandy and Ross, whom we love dearly. Lots of teasing and laughter. Yesterday it was shopping at Hy Vee and lunch at same. All-you-can-eat salads for $6.99, and did we ever CRAM!! The salad bar included not only delicious salad makings, but soups, lots of fruits and some lovely desserts.

We each returned to the bar x  number of times-- we won't tell how many or what the scales now say. Of course, we shopped after lunch, like you're supposed to--never shop while you're hungry, you might buy too much.

   Here we see Peck putting back the 10 bottles of bubble soap that he sneaked into my cart, while Sandy ponders how she puts up with such a nutcase.

  Supper was at the Byers', where once again we shared the lasagna, now down to two pieces, which I put into the freezer. Rats, now I have to cook!!

   During the night a gale force wind came up, forcing the camper into a shake, rattle and roll as torrents of rain pounded the sides and lightning flashed across the sky. (Xian spent most of the night on our bed.) Fortunately, late in the afternoon Bill had discovered some tears in the rubber roof as well as a grommet that had come loose around our antenna. Our newly- purchased ladder came in handy for that repair, and the camper stayed dry. Our neighbors and friends say this is weather is par for the course out here, but not usually in September.
  Here's Bill's description of the storm: "Connecticut's celebratory fireworks are like penny fire crackers with wet fuses compared to nature's display. The blasts lit up the sky for 20's of miles around and from 40k feet to earth. Oh My! The wind blew the cream off the milk, and limbs off trees. I'm glad for the firm rooting of my head of hair." And, as you know, he has quite a bit of that!)  

FOOD AND OLD FRIENDS

9/3/10
  As you might imagine, today was a lazy day. Breakfast with Sandy and Peck Ross around 11-- luscious omelets and hash browns, with a handful of popcorn snagged as we went out the door. (Sandy and Peck are dear friends we met in Colorado in 2005 and have kept in touch with ever since.) Naps, blog-writing and then drinks and snacks later on with the Ross' in their gorgeous 40' motor home in a lovely county campground up the road. 
   I will digress to say that the county campgrounds in Iowa are just beautiful and really inexpensive ( like $18 for full hookups and a spacious site). We couldn't get into that particular one because of the holiday weekend, and they don't take reservations. KOA's are expensive, but convenient and always clean. Plus we can reserve. Tradeoffs, tradeoffs!   Grandchildren Page and Hunter came to spend the night with Peck and Sandy. Bright, friendly and funny kids as you can see by the photos. We trooped into Happy Joe's for din-- an interesting pizza, etc chain-- where I had a BLT pizza ( something new that I won't probably repeat, but it was tasty) and Bill had catfish.

Now this is a photo that Hunter will no doubt continue to love for awhile. ( He's 7.) But Page, darling girl who is in 6th grade, will probably find this very unfunny by the end of the year!!! As you can see, neither was shy  around us, and we had a great time with both of them.

NEW FRIENDS/ ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS

9/2/10
All of us were tired by the time ( 4 PM, Central) we rolled into this KOA for the Labor day Weekend. Our plan was to go for the bed as soon as possible, for a nap before supper. Once the camper was set up, we stepped next door to the motor home to introduce ourselves to Doug and Jenny Peden, who turned out to be  just  a marvelous young couple, bright, funny, and warm. So it was beers all around and no naps!!  We sat under their awning while the rain came down in sheets and exchanged stories. Jenny and Doug are electricians, now working at a nuclear facillity while hoping to sell their home in the area and then  go full-time in their RV. In their jobs, they can go just about anywhere, and they want to. Suppertime arrived and we all had St. Jamie's lasagna  and salad in our pad, until we all yawned. widely. The sunset over the lake beside our camper was breathtaking.

CATS 'N DOGS/ ELKHART TO QUAD CITIES, IOWA

9/2/10

   So on Thursday, we loaded Xian up with Happy Traveler, an herbal concoction designed to cut down the anxiety, and it seemed to work a bit better than what we tried previously. But we will all three of us unequivocally say that Route 80 around Joliet, Ill. is the worst road we have ever traveled. Every bridge expansion joint, concrete patch, and pothole conspired to jolt our bodies and minds into oblivion. Happy Traveler would have benefitted all of us. On a bridge in Chicago we gaped in sympathy at a group of people trying to rescue their belongings from a blazing rental van.

It had been raining off and on intermittantly as we went along, breaking long enough for us to have lunch and a game of ball amongst a grove of burr oaks at a rest stop. While Bill stopped to talk with some bikers, it started to rain again, and I ran over to the truck to put up some windows. Now understand,  this is a newish pickup, and I'm not technically savvy with all its bells and whistles. With the rain coming down in buckets at this point, Bill and Xian came racing for the truck. Inadvertantly I had locked the doors again. Picture this: the driver's seat ( with me in it) is moving back and forth, up and down ( and maybe even heating up) as I frantically work the buttons. The windows are raising and lowering, and Bill is still pounding , probably on the door now. FINALLY, I get the doors to unlock, and man and dog pile in, much worse for the wear. The rain lasted most of the day and into the night, which seemed ok to us, who think of rain now as something unique! We pulled into our campsite here in Rock Island, Iowa, in the late afternoon, glad to be staying for more than one day!

LONG DAY'S JOURNEY / ROCHESTER TO ELKHART, INDIANA

9/1/10
Happy first of September, and we don't have to be in school!! This was a long, arduous day, particularly for Xian, who is aware of every rumble strip, acceleration of our pickup, clank of the camper, passing 18- wheeler, and concrete patch. Because he doesn't like to have the back seat down flat where he could have oodles of room, he prefers the seat to be in its normal, upright position, silly creature. He was on the right of it, then on the left of it. He was on the floor-- constantly moving somewhere. While I drove, Bill crawled into the back seat with him, and then when Bill drove, I climbed into the back with him . I finally gave up and let him sit in the front seat ( with me in back, of course!) but his butt kept getting in the way of the rearview mirror, so he was relegated to the back seat once again. Ball play has been somewhat of a savior, as that's what he loves to do, and we stop often to accommodate him. So much for the Compozure treats and the Thundershirt ( anxiety wrap) that didn't help at all. To play ball we usually have to park between two tractor-trailers spewing diesel fumes, but luckily there is also grass on which to run.We finally reached our not-great Elkhart, Indiana campground about 9:30 in the pitch dark and rainy night. Supper and beers at about 10:30....and then oblivion. Xian, at last, had some rest.

ON THE MOVE AGAIN / TOLLAND TO ROCHESTER, NY

8/31/10

The Byers are on the move again! Leaving Tolland before noon on Tuesday,  we rolled along to Rochester, NY, through the lush country of the Mohawk River Valley, vowing to come back sometime to canoe. No time to stop at wineries, but made plenty of time to stop and play ball with Xian, who's not happy to be on the move again. Stops usually have us parked between an 18 wheeler, blowing out its toxic dielsel fumes.Temp was 95 degrees at its hottest, and a cold beer @ 7:30 P.M was like tasting ( and loving it) beer for the first time. Finally we had dinner at 9:30-- a beautiful lasagna made for us by St. Jamie Valedaserra, our next-door- neighbor. Sleep came quickly in our Sleep Number Bed!