TRIP TO IOWA

We were up and ready to leave at 6:30 Tuesday morning. The sun wasn't up yet and temp was in the low 40's. Grabbed a couple of muffins off the breakfast buffet and hit the road.



We had a couple of road work areas, but they weren't too bad. Didn't slow us down too much. We joked about the flat land and trees other than pine trees. We were surprised about how much the trees had leafed out.



We got to the Ledges about 1:00 and I was glad to be home. I missed the trees and the bigger camp sites. We hadn't even backed into our camp site when Andy, the park manager, stopped by. Andy was home for lunch and saw us drive by.



This weekend is the kick off weekend for camping, so it will be busy. Time for us to get back to work and a routine. Early mornings, I'm not sure what those are. Oh well!!! Clean bathrooms and then go for a walk.

MOTOR HOME

Sunday we drove to Morton, Ill. We left at 7 a.m. and got there about 1:00. We dropped the motor home at freight liner for it's yearly service check up. The appointment was for 7 a.m. Monday morning so we spent the night in a motel.



With nothing to do Monday we decided we go look at some cars. We looked at the Ford Escape and the Edge. Then we went to Wal-Mart and looked around for awhile. Big day. :-) Vern had a couple of things he wanted the service department to check out, so it was 3:00 before we could pick up the MH, so we decided to stay another night at the motel and leave early in the morning. We went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner, one of our favorite places to eat.

IOWA HERE WE COME

Friday was our first travel day on the trip to Iowa. We left Kinzers, PA at 7 a.m. and got to our campground in Columbus, OH about 3:45 p.m. It was a long day (about 440 miles). We had several road construction areas and one accident. The accident caused traffic to back up 4 or 5 miles with only one lane open. Two cars and a semi were involved.



We will travel again on Sunday and will drive to Morton, Ill. Sounds like we will be driving in rain most of the way. We've had rain showers off and on all day. They're saying we could get about 2 1/2 inches of rain tonight, but will move out before we leave in the morning. We'll just drive into it again.



We will be at the Ledges Tuesday or Wednesday. I can't wait to get home and see our family and friends.



See you all soon.

SOCCER

Saturday morning we took the bull by the horn and went to 2 soccer games. The temp was 48* when we left and the winds were 15 to 20 mph. Devon's game was at 9:00 and Jordan's was at 11:30. You would think the weather wasn't too bad for the games. Wrong!!! The soccer field sits on top of a hill and the winds are worse up there. I sat wrapped in a blanket and was still cold. I forgot to tell you, the wind was blowing in our face. Devons team lost 6 - 5. With winds like that the ball didn't go where it was kicked.



During the time between games we went into town to get some hot chocolate and warm up. We walked around the gas station store to get warmed up before we went back to the hill.



Jordan's game started 15 minutes early. All the kids and coaches were there, because it was picture day. I almost made it through the first half before I went to the car. The winds had picked up to 20 - 25 mph. I was so cold. Vern and Travis toughed it out until half time. We were in luck for the second half. Another game ended and cars were leaving. One car that was parked next to the field left and Vern pulled into that spot. We were able to watch the second half from the car and STAY WARM. Jordan's team lost 5 - 4. Not a good day for soccer.



Saturday evening we drove to Ephrata (about 15 miles away) to go to WalMart. We drove through areas we usually don't see. There were more farms with plastic sheets down for planting produce. With the high winds it was a wonder the plastic stayed on the ground. The flowers in the yards are so pretty right now. Tulips, daffodils, phlox, and others. Gardens are coming up and you see the Amish ladies planting all the time.



We went to Lancaster to get a couple of things. We drove by a restaurant called Sip & Sup and a few blocks later saw a restaurant called Park & Eat. I guess if you can't come up with a name go the easy way. It is catchy.

BIG BALLOONS

This area must be good for hot air balloons. Every time we are here we see at least 1 hot air balloon. Saturday we saw 2 balloons. One of them looked like it was having trouble of some kind. It was staying just above the ground and seemed to be looking for a place to set down.



Sunday evening we saw 2 more balloons. One of them we were able to see set down. I told Vern the balloon went from round to a tear drop to falling over. It was fun to watch the traffic slow down and watch the balloons. We'll have to see if we see any more.

HALF MARATHON

Saturday Vern ran a half marathon. The first one in decades. A 1/2 marathon is 13.1 miles long. The temps were in the 40s, sunny and breezy. There were 520 registered for the 1/2 marathon and 461 finished. Vern finish 278th overall in 2 hrs. 12 mins. and was 7th in his age group (60-64). You have to remember no road here is straight or flat. The course wound its way up into the mountains and then back down. What a course for a first 1/2 marathon when you have not run one in years. With going up into the mountains they had some great views looking out over the valley.



They also had 4 person teams for the marathon with each person running 6 and 1/2 miles. Some of the team names were -- Men at work, Miz fits, Limp a ling, 4 lousy golfers, 4 decades, and others. One team was made up of members all over 60. All the proceeds from the races went to Garden Spot Retirement Village. ( 62 and over)

BIKE RIDE

Saturday Vern went for a bike ride. A long bike ride, 50 miles. When we were in Georgia everything was pretty flat. In PA nothing is flat or straight. The bike ride went up into the mountains and then back. There was also a 5 mile run. They were serving omelets for anyone who wanted them. The entry fees for the run and bike ride were supporting the Lititz fire department. With the goodies bag Vern got a t-shirt, a bag of pretzel sticks, a small bag of goldfish crackers, and a small back pack.



Next Saturday Vern is going to do a half marathon (13 miles) sponsored by the Garden Spot Village. They provide housing and assistance to senoirs in the area. The run is like the bike ride, it goes up into the mountains and turns around and comes back down. There is also a marathon (26 miles). Vern's been online checking the route and found out there are over a 1,000 entered in the 2 races, most are for the half marathon. He may have a little more competition this time. :-) At least he is getting a new supply of t-shirts.

JORDAN'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Friday night we went to Travis' for Jordan's 10th birthday party. We had such a good time and laughed a lot. It was nice day, so the party was outside. Jordan decided she wanted a water slip & slide. Travis bought 2 bid tarps and staked them out and then put dawn dish soap on them. Then sprayed them with water and the kids went sliding. What fun they had. I think there were 9 kids. Before long they were covered in soap suds. Lynn said it was good clean fun.



They ended the party with angel food cake and strawberries and whipped cream. So good. Oh I forgot we had pizza after the the kids got dried off and had changed clothes. We had so much fun.

LAST LEG

We drove out last leg to Pennsylvania today. We got an early start (7:15 a.m.), so we were at the campground by 1:00. We stopped at Flying J for fuel and had breakfast.



The scenery was great with mountains all around us. The grass was green and flowers coming up everywhere and the trees were budding out. A nice drive. I do a lot of reading on travel days, there isn't much else to do.



Travis stopped by the campground for a short visit and invited us over for pizza tomorrow night. I haven't had really good pizza since we left Iowa.