Snow Sweet Snow

Well guess what!!! Yup we arrived with the motorcycle still upright, going forward and with snow falling.

We started at 6am today - we weren't exactly sure what the snow predictions would really mean and didn't want to chance it. We only had 140 miles to go. So at 45 degrees off we went. To our pleasant surprise megan called and I successfully conferenced jack into the call. So she was our escort into denver. She regaled us with wonderful stories about brad and her weekend in warm springs. When you next see them you should hear some of their stories. Truly remarkable how God is always watching over us all.

Well speaking of that ..... Jack got us to our new storage bin w/ the motorcycle still upright. And the snow started. By now it was 39 degrees. With no calamities we loaded the motorcycle, trailer and boxes into the bin. And headed off to our new home - the Marriot Residence Inn in Westminster. By now it was 37 degrees and snowing harder. We dropped off the Lexus which isn't great in the snow and took the Yukon out to Todd Creek. On the way we stopped at Heidi's Deli in the new shopping center at I-25 and rte 7 (the road leading to our home). We had soup - of course. What else would you have on a snowy day.

When we got to Todd Creek what a wonderful surprise. The landscaping around the development is gorgeous. And our house was better than we remembered. We talked to the construction manager who gave us some positive reassurances that he'll do his best to get us in december. We'll know more as we get closer.

By now it's 34 degrees, still snowing and we're ready to check in to our new home - it's 3:30 our time. Our realtor called to tell us our settlement was successful. So now we are 'houseless'. We've moved in. We're hoping Sammy will get comfortable with it as his new home. We have a little more than 2 inches of snow on the ground. And it's 28 degrees. Pretty cool.

Well all 3 of us are a tad tired. So I'm signing off for now. Again thanks for all your prayers.

Welcome to Beautiful Colorado

We should arrive at our new home tomorrow after a stop to the storage place to drop off the bike and trailer and some of the boxes.

We crossed the Colorado state line this afternoon. The sign reads 'Welcome to colorful Colorado.'. We then stopped at the Visitor's Center and picked up bunches of brochures. It'll be good reading material - since yesterday we both finished the books we brought with us.

Today's trip was fun travelling across Kansas. Pretty country. I'm struck by how much land there is and it seems to go forever. We had rain and drizzle all AM. Again it stopped for our picnic lunch. Then by 1 we got sun and it's downright warm (70+).

Tomorrow a cold front is coming in from 'Big Sky Country' and it's supposed to be cold with snow. Across Kansas I noticed we went from country to country and western music. For those who don't appreciate either there's a real difference.

After we arrived at the hotel today jack got a call from the furniture store in Westminster to tell us the furniture we ordered for our new house has arrived. They''ll hold it all 'til our house is ready. Pretty cool.

Did you know that Denver has 650 miles of bikepaths? The largest in the nation.

Yesterday I had an excited tummy. Today jack does. It's getting closer. Well it looks like we're gonna make it with the bike still upright. We're looking forward to getting settled and eating more healthy. (It seems like everything we've eaten has cheese or gravy on it. )

We're also looking forward to seeing the Hursts (hope to see Paul before he heads back to Florida), Lauren on Thursday (she's in town on business so we're gonna catch up with her) and a party on saturday w/ oure new neighbors at Todd Creek. And of course we need to do all the projects that people moving into an area do. So we'll be busy.

We're happy and excited about what all the tomorows have in store for us. I'll keep you apprised as we go through it.

We're in Kansas, Toto

We're in Salina, Kansas and will still be in Kansas most of tomorrow. We cross the Colorado border tomorrow.

We had pouring rain for most of the AM today. Then it's been cloudy and off and on rain the rest of the day. We managed to get a break in the rain for our picnic lunch.

We arrived here early enough that we went and found a park to walk around. It was really cool. There was a band playing country music. So we went over to watch for a while. People sitting around listening. And there was a couple on the sidewalk two stepping. And on a small square concrete pad three couples had gotten up to dance as well. It was fun to see.

Well tomorrow's another day like today. About 300 miles. I'm still a little sore but I can see the end in sight.

Happy Anniversary to Megan and Brad!!! They were on top of the world looking out at the beautiful trees in virginia. They're in Warm Springs celebrating their anniversary. It sounded perfect.

Thanks for everyone's prayers and thoughts. Keep 'em coming.

Columbia, Missouri

Well hello everyone. We're in Columbia, Missouri. Can't say there's anything to tell you about Columbia - except it's between St. Louis and Kansas City. And it was a city Brad once thought he might go to. We've done 950 miles. Today was a short driving day which was good 'cuz I'm a little sore. Fortunately we stop frequently so I can pull out my blanket and do my stretches. We take 15 minute walks each time we stop also.

Today is a beautiful fall day - sparkling sunshine, beautiful fall colors in the trees and wheat fields. We saw lots of corn mazes - certainly one thing to do w/ corn fields.

Jack's been listening to Joe Cocker and Greg Kline a lot. I've listened to the radio. To my delight there's lots of country and Christian stations out this way.


I've enjoyed having some time to reflect on life. Some of my random reflections......

• 
  
  Jack is a terrific leader of car caravans.
• 
  
  
  There's a culture to 'trailer drivers/parkers'. You park in different places and you look for spaces that allow you to go forward. Even if it means you park next to someone going that way also.
• We've seen very few people on cell phones.
• When I see a license plate from Virginia and Colorado I get excited.
• I'm getting more and more comfortable following the trailer. And worrying less and less about something untoward happening to it.
• Picnic lunches are infinitely preferable to finding a restaurant at lunchtime.
• We're trying to keep track of 3 of us. How in the world did Mom and Dad do this with all six of us!!! :)
• I love the topography of Virginia - rolling hills; and Colorado - flat land with mountains. I'm not so crazy about Missouri.
• Ohio has the worst rest stops so far. Outside of the Washington area Illinois has the best.
• Our favorite of the inexpensive motels that take dogs - Red Roof Inn
• I'm so grateful for all my Pilates classes.

Do you guys remember where you were a year ago? The night before Megan and Brad's wedding. Well enough rambling. I'm signing off for now. More tomorrow.

Casey, Illinois

We're staying in Casey, Illinois. And the highlight of the town appears to be the 3 baseball fields - two of which are for girl's fastpitch softball, but nonetheless it's baseball. Casey is between Terre Haute and St. Louis. So as you can tell we've made it to Illinois - passed through Indiana to get here.

We woke to 32 degrees and ice on our windshields. We've had sun all day but it's been very windy and cool. This evening is pretty as the wind has died down. We had a picnic lunch at a rest stop in Illinois. And once we arrived here we took a nice long power walk to get all the kinks out of us. Sammy is probably the only one who really got rid of them all. Oh well.

We've seen Alexandria, Hagerstown, Paris and Marshall all today - and none of them were in Maryland or Virginia. And we're now in a different time zone. We've done 695 miles. Sometime tomorrow we'll hit the halfway mark.

Sammy has really settled into enjoying the travelling. The only part he doesn't seem to like is when the car goes over a rumble strip - it startles him and he jumps to the back seat. In the back seat is his bed and our two suitcases so he has some nice soft things to sit on.

We're feeling good and looking forward to tomorrow's travels.

435 Miles!

We have less than 1300 to go. We had a great day. Mom called to wish us aloha at 5:45 before she became a star!!
Megan and brad met us at the front door of the hotel and sent us on our way at 6:03. We got lucky w/ traffic out of town. There were accients along the way up to Gaithersburg - all in the other direction!!!
We made it out of Virginia, through Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia (again) and then Ohio. We got into Columbus a little after 2:30. We stopped, unloaded and had dinner.

Sammy is very content. He settled on the front seat next to me and slept after the first 15 minutes except when we stopped. Then he was filled with energy and enthususiasm. I think he's finally catching up from the past couple of days

We've had all sorts of weather. It was 63 and cloudy in VA. We then got rain and it started to get colder. We've had sun and then a few snow flurries when we arrived in Ohio. By the time we arrived in columbus it was 43.

The drive through maryland and west virginia was spectacular. The trees were at their peak. A perfect fall farewell for me.

Oh and the motorcycle and trailer are still upright. And we're still going forward.