Destin -- Destined to be a Favourite

The sand is a different conistency than that at Okracoke. It's a bit like fine granular sugar -- soft and sparkly.

We are sitting in the lap of luxury at Tom and Sandra's condo here in Destin, Florida. The sand and the sea are wonderful: white sand, emerald green sea with big white capped waves rolling in one after the other to meet the little sandpipers that scurry back and forth just out of reach of the water that could surely sweep those little birds right out to sea.

We are on the 14th floor, with only a little swimming pool between us and the beach. The single red flag has been out indicating that there is a swimming hazard and, although the water is not closed to swimmers, we figure it is closed to us so far as venturing out in the surf is concerned. This is called the emerald coast and it is easy to see why. The water, unlike that at Nevis, which is turquoise, is a definite green colour -- clear and beautiful. We plan to get out on that beach tomorrow morning before the intesne heat of the day. We will swim if the red flag is down, but in any case we will paddle about at the edge and sit and read a few pages in our novels. We cannot stay out too long -- neither one of us wants to burn, and you can feel the direct rays of the sun begin to cook before too long.

At Sandra and Tom's suggestion, we went to Marina's for supper. The specialty entrees are half price between 5:00 and 6:00, so that's when we went. Sandra said she liked the red fish the best, so that's what I ordered. Red fish is a mild white fish. It was crusted with a tiny bit of spicy sausage and covered with a mild creole sauce. Green and yellow summer squash and onions completed the dish. Mary Ann had large grilled scallops with a delicious sauce along with tomatoes and artichokes. It was all so delicious and, again, the very essence of luxury and elegance -- a view of the harbour, white table cloths and napkins, a waiter who carefully described several of the entrees in high cuisine language (would you call it "cuisinaire" and could you build it into blocks of 10? -- that's an inside joke for those of you who aren't old teachers). The portions were pretty large and after eating numerous pieces of baguette type bread dipped in herbed olive oil, we just didn't have time for dessert, so we've come home for coffee. Mary Ann has just showered and I will follow soon in order to wash off the sun screen and sand, even though I thought I already had the sand carefully brushed off -- not.

I did something (I have no idea what) that has made my back so sore that I've been taking ibuprofen every four hours and I am hobbling around and wincing on and off like a crotchety old lady. On top of that, I thought I was getting covered with mosquito bites, but in fact, I seem to have develped hives over a good chunk of my body. What a mess I am! I do things gingerly so I can keep up with my more athletically gifted sister :). Hopefully it will be better tomorrow. I'm a bit sleepy from the antihistimine, but it has helped the scratching problem and a good night's sleep will hopefully resolve the back issues.

This is a wonderful place and we are so grateful to Tom and Sandra for sharing it with us. It has Hawaii beat, and it's right up there with Nevis for me -- although I was never on a 14th floor condo on the beach at Nevis. Brian and Nita, you will know that it was more like a grubby little room on the second floor of our "bombed out" shelter not too far from Pinney's Beach!

The South

God got His rolling pin out a few more times and ironed the land perfectly flat. I think it is actually all flat, but the trees along the roads screen everthing else from our view. We are in Tallahassee tonight and will drive the two or so hours to Destin in the morning. We are so looking forward to being there.
The beautiful live oaks continue to impress. Here are the several thousand words suggested by a few pictures.

Here is the moss hanging from the live oak.

Okracoke and the Carolinas

Okracoke is the most southern part of the Outer Banks string of islands. We rose from our expensive motel in Hatteras -- The Hatteras Marlin Motel -- and drove south to Okracoke. First came a free ferry from Hatteras to Okracoke -- about a 30 minute ride. This ferry is a bit like the Thetis Island ferry. We drove down the narrow isthmus with the Atlantic on one side behind big dunes and the "sound" on the other side -- often behind dunes as well. When we got to the little town of Okracoke, we were pleasantly surprised . It's a great little place with bakeries and coffee shops on people's porches and other restaurants and boutiques in people's yards. Of course there are the ever present "junk" (read that "souvenir") and surfing shops. We had cinnamon buns and coffee at a little place that came highly recommended. Great cinnamon buns!

Since we had put on our bathing suits under our clothes, we were ready to visit the beach -- apparently the best on the Atlantic coast. I don't believe I have ever seen so much fine white sand -- not in Scotland, nor in the Caribbean.

and wind:

We spent a couple of hours paddling in the tidal pools (swimming was prohibited when we were there because of the rough water), looking for pig rocks (didn't find any -- sorry, Sandra) and watching the sand pipers speed across the shore just out of the reach of the incoming waves.

We puttered around Okracoke until it was time to catch our next ferry -- the $15 one. It is certainly no Queen of Coquitlam -- it's just a bit bigger than the previous 30 car ferry, but it took us smoothly over the two plus hour trip to the mainland of North Carolina.

The motel was okay, but you already heard the WiFi story -- no staying at EconoLodges any more.

This morning we headed south -- sort of. The sea shore is very irregular and the road followed the shore for some time, so we travelled north, south, east, and west.

There is just one word to describe the Carolinas that we've seen so far -- FLAT. At first, we looked out and as far as we could see there was rolled out flat marsh -- nothing to relieve the even terrain or horizon. As we travelled on, the marsh melded into more treed areas, but still flat. The trees are mostly pines with no limbs for about 3/4 of the height and no underbrush. The result is pickity looking trees stuck across the field. As we continued south, the trees thickened -- still pines for the most part -- so we drove along straight roads with rows of pines lined up on either side.

Next came South Carolina. We began to see palm trees, but the dominant vegetation is still pine trees, but in several areas there are beautiful crepe myrtles (I WANT some in my yard) and live oaks lining the street and forming a canopy over top. Some of these oaks had moss hanging down as well -- totally beautiful.

This is a picture of live oaks I found on the Internet. the ones we saw were like this except they were growing on each side of the road in a couple of different places.

So, we were finished with paying a lot of money for grubby, cockroach, non-WiFi motels, so guess what we did? We stopped at a Motel 6. Here we have everything we need or want with a sparkling clean room, laundry if we want it, lots of towels and WiFi -- all for under $50! So here we are -- enjoying an early night in Charleston, South Carolina. People here are polite (Yes Ma'am, Certainly, Ma'am, Right away, Ma'am). I am not taken with the surroundings for the most part (I miss some mountains or even some hills -- no, even bumps!) but there is beauty here and evidence of gracious living.

More of the same in Savannah tomorrow and then it's on to Florida.

No Blog Tonight

We are in Morehead, North Carolina. Don't stay at an EconoLodge if you want to connect to a wireless network. They make you bring your computer and work in the lobby in order to connect. We're headed for Charleston tomorrow, but had a great day today. We'll try again from Charleston.

OBX = Outer Banks

It was quite a task to get ourselves out of Washington DC yesterday -- lots of traffic, lots of roadwork, lots of lane changes and lots of rough roads. As we crossed Virginia, the road was like a tunnel with no roof. The guide book talked about "limited views" and that's exactly what we saw -- nothing but trees beside the road. To be fair, the trees were larger and prettier than those we had seen earlier, but after a while, it was pretty boring!

We decided to take the time to stop at Williamsburg after reading the description of a carefully restored town -- faithful to the original 1700-1800. We parked at the visitors' centre, declined the $39 ticket to get into the buildings, and opted for a $2 shuttle ticket from the centre to the village. Actually, we could have walked. Disappointment was the response of the day. The buildings looked pretty modern for the 1800's. People in period costumes equaled about 4 and each store had almost identical expensive items. I suppose if one paid for the ticket into other buildings and paid more to see some of the presentations it would be a better experience. To top it all off, I had a couple of little items that I decided to buy, but while the clerk chatted away with someone about a trip to Germany, I stood and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, I decided to put the items back and off we went back to the tree-lined tunnel! If you happen to be driving through Virginia on I-95, don't bother to leave the tunnel for Williamsburg!

We persevered with the inconveniences and ultimately crossed into the peaceful zone of the Outer Banks. The road changed from two or three or four lanes each way to just a single lane. The speed limit changed from 65 to 45 and life seemed easier. Well, "easier" was what we thought until we began looking for a place to stay. The accommodations are expensive and pretty grubby. We stayed at the Tarheels Motel and I will say that it's pretty much the worst place I've stayed at. I won't go into details, but stay away from that place if you're ever in Nags Head, North Carolina!

This morning we stopped at some outlet stores, made a few purchases, and began searching for somewhere to stay tonight! Since the Tarheels wireless connection didn't work, we parked outside another place and found an unsecured wireless connection. We searched and searched and searched until the laptop battery was used up and then we just started to drive on down the islands. We changed our minds about our needs (ocean front wasn't necessary) and our price range (up past $100 now). We thought we'd found a good one in Avon until we went to look at the room (we don't do things sight unseen around here). The room was only a half a step up from the Tarheels, but there was a huge dead cockroach on the floor!! Stay away from the Avon Motel. By now, we decided to just find something decent at any price. We're in the Hatteras Marlin Motel. It's not on the beach and it cost more than we'd hoped. It's clean. It has a phone. The bathtub seems to be in one piece. The only complaint is that we seem to have a party of very loud men next door.

We drove out to the Hatteras Light House. Nita, you would love to see this one. I believe it's the tallest brick beacon in the US at 208 feet.

We stopped to look at bathing suits on the way back from the lighthouse, but didn't find anything I wanted . . . maybe tomorrow.

Our plans are to play on the beach in Ocracoke tomorrow before getting our reserved 3:30 sailing on the ferry to the mainland. By the way, those of you in BC need to weep over this -- it's a 2 1/2 hour ferry ride at a total cost of $15. The ferries go every 2 or 3 hours. I'm sure it will be a smaller ferry than the Vancouver Island ferries, but . . . $15???

Tomorrow night we have reservations at a motel in Morehead City, NC. We're not sure where we'll go after that. Maybe we can find something to do other than look for motels.

Whew!

I think we must have walked for miles and miles today! Most of the long walk was entirely due to our spatial challenges in that most trips from one location to another had to be done at least twice -- first the wrong way, and then maybe another wrong way before finally getting the right way! Oh my goodness, we felt so stupid as we trudged along the sidewalk trying to remember if we'd been at that particular location before and having to go all the way to the intersection to see the name or number of the street. Once we found that, however, we often still didn't know which way to go to get to the next numbered street. I know I had north and south mixed up and Mary Ann is as bad as I am -- must be in the genes.

We stopped at AAA today to pick up some maps and tour books for the next part of the journey. We got off the bus early and surprisingly, found the office easily. We didn't know whether we would be able to get back before they closed in the afternoon, so we got what we needed and packed those heavy tour books around with us all day.

Museum #1 today was the Museum of Natural History. It was kind of fun for me to see up close the same animals we saw live at the zoo in Columbus. The museum had stuffed animals from all over the world -- very interesting, but their fur was all clean and neatly brushed -- quite unlike the real thing in Columbus and Peoria. We also saw skeletons of animals and could see how apparently unlike animals were really quite similar without their skins. A large ocean display made me think that Maddie and Chelsea and how I think they would really enjoy seeing all the sea creatures. We went through a geology section, most of which was just too hard and too much, but we did see some beautiful gems and jewelry, including the Hope Diamond.

Mary Ann took a trip up the Washington Monument. I didn't go because I didn't want to be crowded into that elevator and besides, if I'm going to be up that high, I'd just as soon be in an airplane!

We ate hot dogs from a kiosk and headed for the Air and Space Museum next. As we entered, we heard a man explaining some things about the Appolo 9 command module so we listened in. That led to our joining the guided tour. We know now that if someone tours us around and explains things about the exhibits, we learn much more. This tour guide was excellent, but we stood so long with only short walks from display to display that we became unbelievably tired. It's one thing to walk all day, but it's much more difficult to stand. In any case, we managed and followed the tour to its end some two hours later. We learned about airplanes that first carried the mail and we saw some of the first passenger planes. We saw the actual airplane flown by the Wright Brothers and heard the story of those historic times. We learned about some of the other early planes -- Fokkers and the plane flown by Ameilia Earhart. We were also taught about modern airplanes and saw the nose of a 747. The guide explained that it was just too huge to hope to get it all into the museum! The last part of the tour involved space and particularly, the moon landing program. The vehicle that they used to actually land on the moon wasn't very big and to think that it was used as a "lifeboat" for Apollo 13 was amazing.

By this time, we were worn out, so we had to sit on the wall outside for a few minutes to give our legs a rest before we set out to catch the bus. Of course, we made numerous wrong turns, but found a great little coffee shop where we again sat down while we ate a bagel and jelly. We still had about 7 blocks to walk to catch our bus, so we hustled along being sure to keep the sun in our eyes so we would know that we were walking west.

Our last bus ride was like the others -- pleasant and pretty efficient. We continue to be impressed with the courtesy and skill of the drivers. Interestingly, however, the steering wheels in the buses are very high -- about shoulder height for the drivers. We can't really see why they would be so high and we wonder how much control the drivers have with the wheel so high. It reminded me of the high handlebars on some of the motorcycles I saw earlier in Sturgis.

We had tea and cookies again with the other guests -- an interesting group. It seems that this place is particularly attractive for students who come to study in DC but who do not yet have their accommodations finally arranged. It makes for good conversation.

We plan to leave after breakfast tomorrow. We don't really have to make a long trip since we have no deadlines for a few days and we thought we would wait to leave after the morning rush hour. We also plotted a route that is a bit longer than the one "GPS-Susan" chose for us, but one that looks easier and avoids the down town urban area. Rivers -- the Potomac in this case -- can make for circuitous and complicated routes. So, we'll see what happens when we defy Susan!

Museum Visits

Today was day one of trying to see enough of Washington DC in a couple of days. Actually, to really see what this city as to offer, I think it would be necessary to spend about a year intentionally visiting museums and memorials and libraries and archives to say nothing of musical offerings at the Kennedy Center. Rock Creek Park, although different in style, rivals Stanley Park in its city location and size. I know there are some very bad parts of this city, but the parts we have seen are fascinating and attractive.

We took the bus down to The Mall (Capitol, White House, Smithsonian etc) this morning after a breakfast of home made muffins, toast, cereal etc. The buses seem to be efficient and are very clean. Both drivers today were courteous and patient, not once starting off with a jerk before people were either seated or steadied. We stayed on the bus past the stop we were aiming for, and when we weren't sure we knew where we were and asked the driver for directions, he told us to get back on the bus and he would tell us where to get off as he began the return trip.

We were at the Holocaust Museum just as they were opening and got through the security without incident (although the zipper on Mary Ann's jacket did produce a "wanding" by another security officer). We went to the desk to get a timed ticket when Mary Ann noticed that military dependents did not have to wait but could go on the tour right away. Out came her military car and off we went on one of the first tours.

We spent a very long time in this museum and, truly, we could have spend much longer if it weren't such an emotional drain to do so. The woman who took our tour (about 8-10 people) was a Jew from Belgium who had been hidden in a Catholic convent during the war. Her mother somehow survived the death camp and is still alive and in her 90's. Nevertheless, having the exhibit described by someone so close to the horror made it an even more powerful experience. The entire content of this 3 floor museum is horrifying beyond my ability to describe it. At the end of the tour, we sat and watched video clips of survivors of the camps and death marches reminisce and share those memories. Their stories were so vivid and painful that I was moved to tears. Even the stories of those who tried to rescue and protect Jewish children and adults were difficult to hear because those who were rescued or who survived represent such a small proportion of the Jewish people who were so brutally treated by Hitler and his henchmen.

When we left the Holocaust Museum, we walked over to the Museum of American History, but we couldn't go directly in somehow, so we sat in the cafeteria and ate some over-priced soup and coffee and had a little break.

The Museum of American History took up the rest of the afternoon. These museums all seem to close at 5:00 which makes for a shortened day for those of us trying to cram in so much in just a couple of days. It was fun to see the wide variety of exhibits on all three floors. Of course we looked at all the First Ladies' gowns and personal artifacts as well as displays of transportation, homes, music, toys, science and on and on -- again, too much to really digest in just a few hours. If one were to read all the information posted, it would take a whole day for each floor if not each section. We skimmed some, skipped some, and really read and listened to others.

By the time we got out, we were footsore and weary, but still intended to try to get to the NASA museum because it is one that is open till 7:00. We stopped for a coffee and a bun and before we knew it, we were too late for NASA. As we left the coffee shop (much better value than the museum coffee shop, by the way) we noticed a store with a special basement sale of clothing and about everything else. Well, that took us some more time and completed the job of wearing us out totally. Mary Ann bought some capris and we headed out to try to find out just where to catch our bus for the homeward trek. For once, our intuition was correct, and we found the bus stop with the right numbers. It took us a bit more than a half hour to get back to our attic room -- just in time for evening tea and cookies. Now Mary Ann is down one floor in the shared bathroom taking a shower and washing her hair -- being careful, of course, to be sure to clear the drain of hair before she leaves! This place is kind of growing on us. It is clean, and the people are nice, if not very professional. (for example, they couldn't tell us how much the bus fare was; we got two completely different sets of directions for finding the correct bus; there are no maps or up-to-date brochures for visitors . . . ). There are guests here from France, Germany, San Francisco, Connecticut and us, as well as the volunteers who run the house. Interesting.

Tomorrow, we have another full agenda and we hope to see lots and not get tired. I'm going to throw a second pair of shoes in my backpack for one thing. I wonder what kind of muffins we'll have tomorrow, or if we'll get a real taste of Mennonite cooking!

Pine Knot to Washington DC

Mary Ann and I were on the road just a few minutes after 5:00 this morning and spent the first couple of hours in the darkness and in fog. We were pretty well past Knoxville before the daylight dawned and the fog lifted. The rest of the trip saw moderate temperatures and on-again, off-again rain.
Eastern Tennessee and Western Virginia are lovely. The terrain changed to include much higher hills (still with rounded tops, mind you) and as we entered the Blue Ridge area we even saw some taller hills or small mountains. Once we passed through this little range however, the scenery was pretty much boring. It's about a 10 hour drive, so there was lots of time to eat everything we packed as well as to answer dozens of trivia questions and solve many of the world's problems!

We entered Metro DC and faced a lot of traffic -- 8 lanes with freeways veering off to the left and right. Needless to say, I managed to miss a turn, so Susan (our trusty GPS) took us on a long, circuitous route to this International Guest House. The drive for much of the way was along a huge park, so it was really not unpleasant.
This guest house is not at all what we expected. To say it's "minimal" would be stretching things. We have a funny little attic room on the third floor. There are two twin beds and one skimpy towel each. The shared bathroom is one floor down, and we don't have so much as a sink in our room. There are numerous rules posted around the room -- "Turn off the radiator or air conditioning before opening windows"; "The cups are for your convenience. Please do not throw away or take them with you." and a big long story about the environment and how we should reuse our towels -- etc. etc. We actually took the car out and looked at a Motel 6 by Walter Reed Medical Center and tried to reserve for the next two nights, but they didn't have a room for both nights. It gets complicated to try to find something else. Mary Ann's knee is a bit sore so the climb up and down the stairs is a nuisance for her. We're not sure, but at this point we're thinking we will just tough it out and stay here. It is reasonably convenient to the bus at least. We'll plan to spend all day down town tomorrow anyway.
Pictures tell some of the tale:

Getting Ready for Part 2

Well, it's laundry, packing, and repacking time. I've spent a few days with family and now it's off to points east and south. Mary Ann and I plan to leave very early tomorrow and head to Washington DC. It's a long trip, but we have reservations at a Guest House, so we can drive on into the evening. I've loved being here and wish I'd planned to stay a bit longer, but I'm also looking forward to new adventures.
This part of Kentucky is beautiful. I've been trying to describe what I like so much, but I'm not sure the people around here totally understand what I mean. You may not either, but I'll try again to describe the scene. As I look out over the countryside, I see valleys ("hollers") and ridges, and often the roads follow the ridges, so one can often get a good view. What makes it so different and so pretty is that the trees look round rather than pointy. The result is a surface that reminds me of something like tufts in a carpet or even a pan of small green bread buns! Sometimes the road has been cut through some hillside areas exposing the layered rocky base. I couldn't say there are mountains here, but certainly the hills are higher and more rugged than those in Iowa, Ohio or northern Kentucky. I believe these are the foothills of The Appalachians -- again, maybe not the high, imposing mountains of the west, but very very beautiful. Everything is green and the humidity is pretty high. There is dew on the grass almost all day! We had a bit of thunder yesterday and heavy rain resulting in some flooded basements and garages. The rain doesn't really cool things down, so it's muggy. However, we step from air conditioned houses to air conditioned cars to air conditioned stores and restaurants, so it's not a problem.
Time to leave for breakfast with Dee and Amy. Amy leaves today for her great adventure. She is leaving high school and a comfortable, safe home for university life with its excitements, and its unknowns. She is a lovely young woman who will be a credit to her school and to her family.

Last Day in Columbus

The conference is over. Today's presentations were the best of the week and I learned a lot. The first two days were not as helpful, so I am glad for today.

Lila's dad and brother picked her up at the hotel and they set out for points north. She will be home in Ontario by now and will spend the next week with her family before heading back to MEI to launch the fall term.

I plan to get up at a more reasonable hour tomorrow (it has been 5:00 am mornings this week), have breakfast with Gail and then leave for Pine Knot. There will be a little interlude to be with family in Kentucky before Mary Ann and I set out for Chapter 2 of the Summer Suzuki Saga.

Just a couple of comments about Columbus. . . I haven't been in down town Columbus, but Dublin and the other little municipalities around here are lovely. The homes are beautiful; the yards are well kept; there is every type and kind of store you might want; everywhere you look you can find parks, golf courses, and green spaces. The boulevards along the sidewalks are well maintained and well manicured. Between here and the Hilton Conference Center, there are good roads, reasonable traffic, and even some rural-looking areas. The drive to the Hotel and Shopping Centre took about 20 minutes in the morning and slightly more on the way home when there were many more cars on the road. All in all, I think this is one of the nicest areas I've visited.

I'm about to re-pack now, but I think the major car reorganization can wait till Mary Ann and I can get it all ready for the next leg of the journey.

We all went to the zoo, zoo, zoo

We had fun there too, too, too.

Time is flying by. We decided that the heat dictated a morning visit to the zoo, so off we went on Sunday morning. The zoo is just a few minutes from the Hammett home, and we found parking close to the gates. Zoos are fun and we enjoyed seeing so many animals. The heat set in, however, and we were hot and tired and hungry by the time we tramped back to the parking lot. A trip to an air conditioned restaurant fixed our problems so all was well.

Monday morning began early for Lila and me. We were up at 5:00 in order to get to the conference by 7:00 am. The drive to the hotel is straight forward and easy and the parking is plentiful and free. We got registered and enjoyed a typical Hilton conference breakfast -- bagels, sweet rolls, and coffee. It wasn't long before we realized that we would be freezing in the overly air conditioned meeting rooms. I headed out to the car to get my polar fleece jacket which helped, but didn't totally solve the A/C problem. It's a good thing the presenters were engaging enough to keep us there in sub-zero temperatures!

The hotel is directly across the street from a HUGE mall, so before driving home, we did a very quick tour of a few of the stores. I found a sweater that I really liked in one store, but decided it was just a bit over my price range when the ticket said $1496.00! Obviously, this mall includes some up-scale shopping.

Gail prpared a Mexican food supper after which we all went to Jeni's, the local specialty ice cream place. There we found a huge number of flavours to choose from. I chose the signature flavour of salty carmel with a chaser of black currant. The salty carmel was surprisingly good and worthy of a return to Jeni's. The problem is, time is quickly running out. Lila's dad and brother will pick her up at the hotel tomorrow just after our last session. I plan to head south to Kentucky the next morning to begin the southern leg of my 2010 trek.

Now it's time to have one last quick look at my homework before we head out for this morning's sessions at the conference. I have on long pants, socks and runners, a sweater, and will keep my polar fleece handy. . . just the wardrobe I thought I'd need in 85 to 90 degree weather!

Boys of Summer -- Ryan Style

Today has been pretty much of a lazy, but very good day. This morning we went to watch Ryan at his batting lesson. He's only 10, but believe me, he swings that bat like a 15 year old! What a special little boy.
I took these pictures through the netting. I'm a bad photographer at the best of times, and these setting challenges were certainly beyond my skill level, but perhaps the photos will give a bit of a picture of our young athlete.




















After Ryan's lesson, we shopped at "Whole Foods", an upscale food store. It was a great field trip -- wonderful pastries, fruit, vegetables, and a great meat market.

Once we got home, we did some organization of things, junked out the car a bit, did some laundry, and visited. We had a bit of a thunder storm and that is so upsetting to Ginger. You wouldn't know it from this picture. She is a lovely, gentle Golden Retriever, but thunder and lightning turn her into a pacing, crying, sad member of the family.



















Gail has cooked up a storm and we are enjoying wonderful meals. We will probably be sorry when we next step on the scales, but in the meantime, we are happy.
I think we're going to go to the zoo tomorrow. Columbus has a well known zoo and we're looking forward to the outing. Lila and I both like zoos.

We're safely at Gail and Troy's, sitting down now to some m-m-m breakfast freshly prepared for us. More later.

Photos from Thursday

Just downloaded these -- perhaps you can get a bit of an idea of the Iowa countryside and of a part of the main street of Amana.

And . . . one last look at our friends whom we now seem to have left behind.

Day 3 -- Busy Day Followed by a Long Drive

Cosmos

Cosmos

Mount Rshmore "Friends and Companions"

Chief Crazy Horse Memorial

We are safely into a Super 8 near Morningside Lutheran College in Sioux City, Iowa. We were so busy doing things around Rapid City this morning that we didn't leave very early. We drove the 40 or so miles to the Wall Drug Store and then took the loop through the Badlands. We didn't leave that area until 4:30 and we crossed into Central time along the way so that translated into a 5:30 departure. We had already reserved a room here in Sioux City, so we had a good seven-hour drive ahead of us. We did fine even with the miles of road construction and single lanes -- not too much traffic and very few motorcycles!
I think I'll wait till the morning to finish today's story. I left the camera in the car so I can't send pictures tonight and besides, my brain is fuzzy.

One thing I am thankful for (other than a safe arrival, of course) --
this motel room has A/C . It is HOT and muggy ouside -- feels like the bathroom after a hot shower;

• there are closed windows in this room. There are grasshoppers everywhere outside, jumping around and crunching underfoot -- totally grossing out Lila! I received a bunch of critter (?) bites while I was pumping gas just a few miles before we arrived.

Things looks brighter this morning, I must say! I'll try to recount a bit of yesterday's adventures before we leave.

We began the day with a trip out to the Crazy Horse memorial about 30 miles south of Rapid City. This mountain carving, begun in 1948, will rival Mount Rushmore when it is done. We joined hundreds of bikers for a short visit, even though one could spend days looking at the museum dedicated to the history and contributions of the American Indian.

JUST SEEM TO HAVE LOST EVERYTHING I WROTE AND DOWNLOADED! MAYBE I'LL TRY TO RECALL IT LATER, BUT FOR NOW, IT'S TIME TO LEAVE.

Sorry about the repetition.

Here we are in Moline, Illinois at a Super 8 Motel. I think I now know what I did to lose all my data. I'll try not to do it a third time!

So, if I knew how to make sure the pictures I upload would appear where I want them, I would insert Crazy Horse pictues here. As it is, I guess I'll just post them at the top.

The next visit was to the famous Mount Rushmore. Once more, we joined our biker friends to gaze at the amazing engineering feat of carving huge faces on top of a mountain! One could spend time learning more about the technology and the geology, but Lila and I opted to quickly check out the gift shop and head out for adventure number 3 for the day. (Actually, Lila almost bought a Sturgis motorcycle T-shirt, but delayed that important purchase till later in the day.)

For those of you who have visited Cosmos in Rapid City or the Mystery Spot in southern Oregon, you will know that it is pretty hard to descibe the experience of not being able to believe your eyes and feeling out of control as you attempt to stand or walk on an apparently level floor. It's a place where people's relative size changes based on their position on a level cement pad. It's a place where you almost feel nauseated because up isn't exactly up and your head feels dizzy. Tennis balls roll up rather than down, as does water. You'll see from the pictures that in order to stand "up" we have to lean way back or to the side, yet we could make swan-like poses from the wall of the cabin. Obviously there is much that has been done in order to fool us, but there do seem to be funny things going on! It was a ton of fun and we thoroughly enjoyed being mystified.

By the time we finished playing around with the mysteries of Cosmos, it was getting late. We had made reservations for Sioux City, but rather than miss anything, we decided we would just make the six or seven hour trip later in the day. We drove to Wall Drug Store -- about 50 miles east of Rapid City. There we looked at jewelry, leather goods, jewelry, souvenirs, jewelry, junky little items for prizes, and more jewelry. Before leaving, we smugly hooked up to an unsecured wireless network next to Sunshine Inn, and checked for the address of the motel we had booked. We added that to the GPS and left Wall.

We weren't quite ready to get back on I-90, however, because we wanted to drive through the Badlands Loop. I know there are all kinds of scientific geological reasons for these strange looking formations "rising" out of the grasslands, but I prefer to think of them as eerie creatures standing and following us with their eyes. There are coloured mounds that I'm sure are caves into which these creatures drag their prey before they retire to their pinnacled castles! Whatever you might believe, it is another awe inspiring sight and we were glad we took the time to drive among those Badlands.

Now it was back on the road -- again, along with more biker friends -- across the prairies of Little House on the Prairie. Before it got dark, we ran into a rain shower that produced a perfect ground to ground rainbow arch. We headed into the middle of the arch and could see a total curtain of rain running parallel to the highway -- about 50 miles north of us. The clouds are interesting in this prairie country. They seem to hang in the sky with lots of sky above and around them -- mostly white and fluffy, although a few had some dark moments that produced the rain. It became dark and we often travelled in single lane road constructions that lasted for miles and miles. There wasn't much traffic however, so it didn't really hold us up.

We made the turn south at Sioux Falls and managed the additional hour or so on to Sioux City. For the first time on this trip, I was negligent about keeping watch on the gas tank, so we coasted into a late night gas station almost on fumes. (Shades of Cape Breton Mary Ann, Dee and Sandra?) As I pumped gas, I was nearly eaten alive by critters and felt as if I were in a sauna. Oh my goodness it was hot and humid -- after midnight at that. When we finally got to the motel, Lila was grossed out by the multitude of grasshoppers -- hopping this way and that and crunching underfoot. Yuck.

Today's adventures were mild by comparison. Rural Iowa is pretty in places, but it is almost all the same -- rolling hills and flat fields of corn and some other grains. The roads in Iowa so far are awful, old and rough. We have clicked along many miles on concrete slab roads, may of which are being repaired, again leaving us with single lane traffic.

We stopped at the Amana Colonies -- interesting little shops and beautifully kept old buildings. I bought some travel mugs -- Nita, they may well be a replacement for the ones we have searched for. On the way back to I-80, we stopped at a mall where Lila picked up some things she wanted and we had an actual meal in a restaurant. Now we're happily installed in our motel room and getting ready to have a much earlier night.

Tomorrow, we plan to be at Gail's by early evening. It will be a busy road. We hear that there is a great zoo in Peoria, so we may stop there for a quick look.

Not Just Tens of Thousands!

You simply WOULD NOT believe this! Apparently there are 400,000 to 500,000 motorcycles in Rapid City and Sturgis. We were bumper to bumper with them from 100 miles out and there was a steady stream of them heading out of town. One biker told us that they were heading west looking for a place to stay. I think we must have found the last motel room in an entire 100+ mile radius. It's a hokey little walk-up motel room, but seems clean at least -- and all for a mere $165 for the night! I would expect it to be about $49.00 regularly. It was pretty funny driving into town.

There were motorcycles all around -- in front, in back, and beside us. There were solid lines of bikers on the side roads, the overpasses and on the crossroads. Because the area is reasonable open, we could see a long way off. It truly looked like lines of ants totally covering the area! There are fancy big bikes with scarey riders; there are ordinary bikes with ordinary riders; there are many couples -- some dressed appropriately and some dressed in bathing suits!

There is no helmet law in this state for adults, so I would say that more than half of the riders and passengers had their hair blowing in the wind. The law does say that the handlebars must be no higher than the shoulders, but, for sure, there are some who are thumbing their noses at that. We talked to a middle aged guy from Wisconsin here in the parking lot. He was so impressed that we had come all the way from BC! Then he and his wife invited us to head out to some place that has amazing steaks. (We might go out for supper tonight, but probably won't go to a steak house.) Another fellow answered Lila's questions about what went on at this rally by just telling her that there is lots of beer. I suspect we might not get too much sleep tonight because our motel is full of noisy bikes. All they same, there is a great party atmosphere -- lots of laughing. Almost all the riders are compliant with the rules of the road and I don't think I saw any of them speeding excessively -- for one thing, the roads are too crowded to speed!

The motorcycles have dominated the day, but earlier we drove through fantastic countryside. Leaving Butte (later than usual), we drove over another pass or two through forested, mining-like terrain into rolling, undulating wide wide valleys, yellow with hay fields and range pasture. The ground looked as if it had been folded, much as a quilt on a poorly made bed might look. Later we drove through the even wider Gallatin valley -- beautiful and prosperous looking ranch country. Just west of Bozeman, we found the bakery that I loved so much on previous trips. I though it was west of Billings and had been unable to find it the last couple of trips along I-90. We bought wicked goodies and ate them with the coffee we brought from our motel breakfast. The yellow fields soon turned into fuzzy sage green as we moved into the cowboy country of Wyoming. Now we thought the land looked as if it were covered with mold and along with very dry range land, we saw numerous oil wells bobbing their heads up and down. Interestingly, along much of this "Big Sky Country", there are pointy little hills rising from the rolling plains. They look a bit like upside down ice cream cones -- maybe like the chocolate maple buds we used to get as kids.

OK. That's enough for now. You'll be sick of reading all this nonsense.