Slow and Easy

The month of July was so busy for us that our life was filled with so many "to do" lists that I was making lists of all the various lists! I could hardly imagine a day with time to simply relax.

We slept late today and had another leisurely breakfast. After I finally showered and got ready for the day Jean and I went into Cedar Rapids for a bit of shopping (just kicking the tires) and spent time looking at more of the residue of the terrible flooding that this town experienced in 2008. Jim and Gary took in a round of golf after which we all met up for a delicious lunch at a local restaurant.

We spent the later afternoon playing our perpetual cribbage game and once again the men took the win. I am beginning to think the women are jinxed.

We chatted away the evening, and at the end of the day all I can think of is the blessing of being so relaxed. It has been a wonderful stay here with Jean and Gary. Tomorrow we will be back on the road.

Cultural Diversity

If anyone had asked me what there was to do in the Cedar Rapids area I would have been hard pressed to come up with ideas. Even though we have driven through this area many times, we have never taken the time to explore this part of Iowa. Jean, who in our family is known as a wonderful hostess had, as usual, all sorts of ideas. We spent the first few hours in the Czech Slovak museum. All of my life I have been immersed in Dutch culture so I found it incredibly interesting to see the costumes and learn something of the history of the Czech and Slovak people of whom I really knew very little. It is a beautiful museum and even more fascinating because of the restoration that has occurred as the result of the 2008 Cedar River floods.


We then drove to a very small town for a lunch in a sweet little restaurant that was decorated in an early 1900's style. After eating Gary drove us on to the Amana colonies. It had been years since I had been there and it surprised me to see how much it had been "commercialized". I wondered how much the culture of that group of people had been lost to the tourist industry. Still, it was fun to see the beautiful furniture built there and the huge wool weaving looms. We even had a woman who was willing to open a shop so we could sit in the world's largest handmade rocking chair.

After another wonderful dinner with Gary and Jean the women once again lost our ongoing Cribbage war with the men. Sigh.

It was a full day, but a relaxing one.

Family is forever

We left Lansing around noon and felt like we had just experienced a vacation, so we should be returning home. But instead we continued on to Eastern Iowa.

Nearly six years ago my brother had his Glory Day. So much changed when he left this earth, but one thing remained constant. His wife and our sister-law was still and forever part of our family. When she was blessed with a second love, Gary melded into our hearts. With decrease came increase and love continues to bind us together.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal followed with a visit on the patio with Gary & Jean's delightful 95 year old friend Maxine. What an inspiration she is! It was fun to witness such a bright outlook even in the 9th decade of life.

Jim and I have decided that if we keep eating all the delicious food we
have been served we are going to have to find a way to get more exercise. I think we are going to have to actually use the yoga app we downloaded.

Soul Sisters and Happy Memories

We shut the garage door at 11:00 AM and drove into our adventure. First stop: Lansing, Illinois. When we first moved to this Chicago area community 37 years ago we felt like strangers in a foreign land. Then we met Cathie and we were home.
There are many people who have been woven in and out of our lives, but there are only a few that have had so much impact in our lives that it shaped who we became.
There are 5 women who have touched my soul and helped me become more of who I was created to be. I think of them as my Soul Sisters. Cathie was brought into my life at a time when I needed the wisdom and love that she so freely gave. So much of what I learned from her has influenced my todays.
We spent the afternoon visiting with Bill and Cathie   and were joined for dinner by Rich & Frieda. I felt like we were being rained on with the blessing of happy memories and nourished with the joy of the present moment. The day ends with joy my heart.
Jim walked over to the first school he taught at. We saw the apartment we first lived in when we moved here. The second house has been bulldozed so past pictures are all we have to revive our memory. It all seems so long ago and yet like yesterday.
It has been a Good Day.

So how much can a Prius hold?

Apparently a Prius can hold a house with a kitchen (including a pantry, stove and refrigerator), a bathroom, an office, a bedroom and two large closets. Did I mention outdoor furniture? And two happy campers?

It seems impossible that after all this time of dreaming and preparation we will be on our way tomorrow morning. When we first started talking about this Victory Lap, I had several rules:
1. The car would be neatly packed and not look like a traveling trash can.
2. No more than 6 hours a day in the car.
3. Absolutely no camping in inclement weather which is defined by rain, excessive heat, excessive wind, excessive cold, or the habitation of any scary critters in the immediate vicinity.
4. All hotels that house us will be in stark contrast to the camping quarters we will inhabit. This can be interpreted up to a 5 Star hotel,but certainly not below a 3 Star hotel.
5. All exits are potential stopping places.
So now we will see if Jim adheres to my rules.

His rule? Let's make this an adventure.

Maybe his rule is better than mine... We will check back to this first post and see how we fared.

Now we go, asking God to give His angels charge over us, providing traveling mercies for safety, no mechanical difficulties, no bears, and good health. And we pray that our children and grandchildren are kept safe from harm, remain healthy, and call, text and Face Time us frequently.

Off we go...