I am sitting here in our hotel room at the Rodeway Inn looking out over their little lake. I always request a 'room with a view' even though it is further to trek with all our stuff. Rick complains every time. You didn't get another room with a view of the lake did you? Tough luck, Rick, the walk will do you good after sitting in the car for 11 1/2 hours. Right? Anyway, it's peaceful and once in while the Canadian geese will parade their new goslings around. We haven't ordered our Domino's pizza yet, but are just chilling out since we arrived ahead of schedule with lots of down time tonight. I just hope Rick is alert enough not to place the order with Domino's in Kearney, NE instead of Grand Island. That happened once and the guy called us and told us he was outside our room, only he wasn't. He was at the Rodeway Inn in Kearney. Needless to say he did not come the 35 miles to Grand Island to deliver our pizza. I hope he enjoyed it, poor guy. (And if you remember that story, I apologize for repeating myself.) Tomorrow we make the final push to the cabin which will only be half of what we drove today. Can't wait.

Our drive so far has been pretty uneventful. I thought it was cool today as we approached the Illinois border and the fringes of Chicago and saw a pair of geese with their new babies right by the roadside (hopefully they stay off the road) and then a coyote crossing the overpass. The most traffic we've encountered was right over the border into Pennyslvania from New Jersey and good old Iowa. We've decided that our least favorite state to drive through is Iowa. It's just so congested with trucks and cars. Lex is a joy to be on the road with! More on that topic later I'm sure from Rick. 

It's interesting to watch the landscape change as we drive across this vast and varied country of ours. We've gone from densely wooded mountains in Pennsylvania to rolling farmlands in Ohio and Indiana, and on to the even flatter farmlands of Illinois with its beautiful old derelict barns. Iowa is hilly, and Nebraska is the greenest I believe I've ever seen it to be! So far the wind isn't even blowing us sideways! 

Lex holds less gas than Big Red so I am going to be sure I make Rick fill up in Sydney and not Pine Bluffs, WY. Running out of gas in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night was once too many times. Plus, we also had an accident and wrecked our brand new Tahoe and our 27-foot travel trailer there once upon a time. I am not a practicing Catholic anymore, but I always make the sign of cross as we pass through. I am not kidding! And, we had to pay for part of the guard rail on that stretch of I-80. The same guard rail that saved our lives. Go figure.

Anyway ... our pizza is ordered and I just finished my second glass of wine while writing this drivel that probably none of you will read.

Until you hear from me next ...

I will still blog here occasionally, but mostly I am blogging at our other web site now as we prepare to move from New Jersey to our cabin in Colorado. It's called "Off the Grid" and you can find it here. We will write about our plans and keep you updated on our eventual move.

So, if you don't see me here, come over to Off the Grid!

Come on over and read!

This morning I went to the library to return a few books that I had checked out but decided not to read. As I walked up to the library entrance I noticed something black lying in the middle of the sidewalk. I started to bend down to pick it up, assuming it was a scarf, but as I looked closer I could see that it was a pair of black women's underwear. At least I thought that's what it was.  No way was I picking them up to find out for sure! 

I walked into the library and up to the front desk where two women were behind the desk checking in books. I told them about the undies and they just looked at me increduously. Then they started to laugh. I said I don't think you want them hanging around out there. They talked between themselves about what to do and they agreed that it was too good to pass up, that the head librarian should be told to go out and get them. I heard them call her on the office phone and it was clear she didn't believe them, so she told one of the women to go out and look for herself. She said you aren't trying to spoof us for April Fool's are you? I had completely forgotten what day it was and now my little announcement seemed suspect even to my own ears. No, I assured her, I am not.

She went out and came back in with her hand over mouth to stop from laughing out loud. Yup, she said. They are black underwear for sure. She called her boss back and told her that yes indeed it was true. In a few mintues the boss appeared with a plastic bag over her hand. She looked at me and said I thought you were April Fooling us, laughing as she said it. I told her no way would I pull such a stunt! (They all know me at the library.)

While she went outside to pick up the panties the other two women speculated how they had gotten there. Could they have been stuck with static electricity to someone's pant leg? This caused even more outbursts of laughter. The woman who had gone out to check on my story said, no way those panties are too big to be overlooked. More laughter. 

After a few mintues the boss returned holding the plastic bag with the mysterious black panties inside. They wondered if they should put them in Lost and Found. 

All in all, we all had a good laugh. And in case you are wondering, no this was not an April Fool's post!

Check out "Shedding." Come on over!