Thursday, 5 Apr 2012, Indianapolis, Indiana



Restored Missouri courthouse circ 1834

Missouri wildflowers

We streaked through Illinois except for a brief stop to get the `click click` checked. When we stopped for lunch at the Illinois & Indiana border, Wayne shut the van off and then immediately tried it. It started after the third try but we figured..what are the odds...it`s the day before a long weekend and sure as anything, we`d try it in the morning at the hotel (when nothing was open) and it wouldn`t start. A quick call to the Ford dealer in Brazil, Indiana got us in, new relay something to celluloid, and back on the road in an hour.

No much to see today. I did comment a few times that these are the cleanest States I`ve seen and the highways are terrific. It was a lovely drive though...all the spring trees are in bloom so some areas in the woods along the highway had pink as well as white Dogwood and a few others I didn`t recognize. On the drive to Brazil, we passed a house with one each of the Dogwood trees in the front yard, each about 20-25 ft high and along the foundation were rhododendron bushes in that vibrant pink, yellow, and pale pink colours. Talk about curb appeal!

We expect to be in Northern Michigan tomorrow and will then cross the border at Sarnia on Saturday. I`m hoping it won`t be too busy but I don`t think the traffic going in to Canada will be as heavy as the people heading south to shop for the long weekend. I know that at some point tomorrow I need to tidy up the mess of bags in the van so it doesn`t look like....well, that there`s so much.

That was our day. I doubt I will blog again on this trip unless something happens. Now I just want to look forward to lots of hugs and kisses that I`ll get in person. Until next time, take care.

Wednesday, 4 Apr 2012 - St Louis, Missouri



The Missouri Welcome Centre had a mock Route 66 Street. The picnic tables were inside building made to look like those that would have been seen driving through towns on Route 66. Amazing!

It's been a long, wet day and we were glad to pull into our hotel tonight. Except for a short period when the sun managed to get through the clouds, it was overcast and at some points, we had heavy downpours.

We stayed on Interstate 44 right through Missouri, which is the old Route 66. We did get off for a short time to go into the Meramac State Park to see the Dogwood trees, which are in full bloom. It stopped raining long enough to take a few pictures but it was pretty dark sometimes. Missouri is beautiful!! The more time we spend here the more I would like to see of the central states. We are always in a rush to get home so don't get to see a whole lot of the areas we drive through...but I always like to think of these places as 'come-back' destinations, and they eventually are places we re-visit.

One thing Oklahoma and it's border Missouri towns have are Casinos! They are big, lavish, and have top entertainers (like Sting) coming in the next month. Some of them are on Indian reservations but the big glitzy ones definitely are not. The strange thing is that most of the surrounding area is just small towns so I'm not sure where the people come from...I suspect it's where the city folk go for a weekend. The other thing I've noticed about these States is that they love to buy, sell, collect, and restore antique cars. We've passed so many cars towing a trailer with an old rusted car on the back or seen fields with old chassis lined up for sale. One of the things I do like about Americans is their love of restoration...whether it's century homes, historic towns, or old cars.

Just had an e-mail from a fellow who turns out to be a 3rd or 4th cousin. He does genealogy and found my family tree on Ancestry.ca...so it works. Our gr-grandmothers were sisters and he has lots of photos and information. I'm so excited as it is part of the family that moved to the US--he lives in Minnesota.

That's our day...I'm pooped and looking forward to a good night's sleep...despite the thunder and lightening outside. Hope all is well, until next time, love and hugs to all.

Tuesday, 3 Apr 2012 - Tulsa, Oklahoma

Looking for the Gene Autry Museum in Gene Autry, Oklahoma

We left Ft Worth/Dallas about 10 am and the skies were dark, the temperature had dropped, and the whole atmosphere was ominous...you could actually smell 'something' in the air. By the time we crossed the border into Oklahoma a couple of hours later, the tornadoes had started forming and soon did some real damage. This is our second close call with hurricane and tornado weather and I don't mind saying I'll be glad when we are out of it.

We got off the Interstate not long after we got into Oklahoma and travelled along the original Route 66 until we were a short distance from Tulsa. Some of the smaller towns along the way have tried to capitalize on the old history and you can see some old buildings along main street. For the most part, it was just a nice drive (when it wasn't pouring rain) through rolling hills and mega horse farms.

We saw the signs for the town of Gene Autry, which of course hosts the Gene Autry Museum and we had to make a detour for a short visit. We kind of suspected there might be a problem when a dilapidated sign pointed us to a dirt road and another more dilapidated sign sent us down another, more narrow dirt road. We ended up in the town of Gene Autry and saw the Gene Autry Baptist Church but never did find the museum. The 'town' is definitely on it's last legs and clearly, Gene didn't leave any of his estate to maintaining his namesake. We did find out where everyone works though. Just up the road in Ardmore, is the H-U-G-E distribution centre for Dollar General. It also has an airport where Wayne says the planes from China land with all the Dollar store stuff.

It was raining too hard to stop and make lunch so we did everything in reverse...ate supper at noon and lunch at supper in the hotel. We were lucky to find a restaurant as the towns were few and far between and some weren't much more than a gas station. At it was, the place we stopped closed at 2 pm.

Again, this is a really beautiful part of the country and reminds me somewhat of Virginia. There are lots of trees (they call Oak but nothing like our Oak trees), and rolling green hills. The wildflowers have disappeared and I still can't believe how lucky we were to have been there when they were out.

That was our day. We are both tired tonight; Wayne was up early to get the van to the garage and it turned out to be the battery so no big deal. We'll be in bed early and try to get an earlier start in the morning although the blackout blinds keep me asleep until at least 8 am. Hope all is well there.

Happy Birthday to Sandra...she get to celebrate every year in Barbados. Until next time, love and hugs to all.

Monday, 2 Apr 2012, Denton, Tx

Texas Bluebells

Tiny but gorgeous in big clusters in the fields.

These are in pink or white, again in clusters.

Roses are in full bloom everywhere.

We left San Antonio around 10 am had a beautiful drive today. The landscape changed, the wildflower were blooming, and the sun was shining--it doesn't get much better.

I only had one stop to make today...yes, another outlet mall...but this one had the only Pottery Barn for Kids outlet in Texas. I'd made up my mind that it was where I wanted to get Gillian a quilt for her 'big girl' bed and I've spent quite a bit of time looking at the selection on-line. Cheap they aren't and I figured I'd get a better deal at an outlet store...at least I was hoping I would.  HOLY MOTHER OF OUTLET MALLS!!! It was the Tanger AND Prime Outlet Malls, back-to-back, and I only went in the one store. Who says I have no self-control? Once again, I went into a mild state of shock as the store was huge and the Kids' section had nearly everything I'd looked at on-line for half price! I picked up and put down for an hour before settling on the quilt and had enough money left over for a few accessories. The other half of the store was a combination of discounted furniture and a gazillion other items that Pottery Barn does so well. I tried to imagine Kim in there...it's her favourite store...so many beautiful things. In the meantime, Wayne had found a store that sold power tools and did his own rendition of a frenzied shopper. If the van wasn't loaded to the gills before, it sure is now!

We were on Interstate 35 and the Texas Bluebells were the show stopper today. There were masses of them and it was kind of funny to see 18-wheelers pulled to the side of the road (illegally) and the driver's out taking pictures. The flowers have a relatively short blooming time so everyone is anxious to capture the magic of a field of bluebells, mixed with yellow and/or pink wildflowers. At one point traffic came to a standstill and was backed up for miles. We managed to get off on a side road and followed the truckers on a detour but stopped at one point to admire (and take some photos) of a huge field of bluebells. They seem to be a cross between our Lupins and Hyacinths.

Lunch was at a nice rest stop just outside Waco. It wasn't quite as hot today and the breeze, which always seems to be blowing in Texas, was nice and cool. This rest area had a 'travellers exercise' area with about 5 or 6 different places to do chin-ups, stretches, etc...never seen that before.

As we got closer to Waco we could see the landscape changing. Where Southern Texas is very arid and sandy, we were now seeing rolling hills, trees and lots of green area. As we went further, and started into the Fort Worth/Dallas area, everything looked quite lush. It really is a beautiful part of Texas and much like Virginia, has expansive horse and cattle ranches. The Texas State Speedway is quite impressive although I can't recall seeing any major NASCAR races from here. Of course, we hit rush hour traffic so pulled off and stopped for supper to wait out the worst of it.

After booking in to the Best Western in Denton, a suburb of Ft Worth, Wayne decided to gas up the van for the morning. A half hour later he returned to report that the van wouldn't start...just 'click, click' so we are patiently waiting for the tow truck to come and the driver/mechanic to do an assessment on whether it gets towed to a Ford dealer in the morning for repairs OR a magic turn of a screw will fix the problem. I suspect the former...we aren't lucky enough for the latter scenario. If we do have to spend another night here there's a nice pool and I just started a new book on my Kobo so things could be a whole lot worse. (P.S. The guy just came and the van started each of the five times Wayne shut it off and re-started it. Murphy's Law. We'll see what the morning brings.)

That was our (wonderful) day. Tomorrow we will either still be here in Denton or somewhere in Oklahoma. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Sunday, 1 Apr 2012 - San Antonio, Tx

Wildflowers of Texas

Texas Bluebells and Pink ???

Some people collect spoons, I collect pics of cop cars.

Hot day, cold beer and a patio. Life is good.

We bid farewell to South Padre Island and as much as we've loved our holiday, we are both anxious to get back on the road (me) and get home (Wayne). It was a scorcher today and by the time the van was packed, we were both looking at the ocean and wishing we had time for one more swim.

Wayne loves jigsaw puzzles, which is why I think he's so darn good at packing a car. Everything fit in nice and snug and our new fancy-dancy plug-in cooler was filled with cold drinks and lunchables. We enjoy stopping at some of the beautiful rest stops and making our own lunch so this cooler eliminates the messy ice packs etc....a good investment I think. We stopped at a rest area overlooking a beautiful valley and had a great lunch. Once again, we congratulated ourselves on making the decision to not eat in restaurants for lunch.

It wasn't going to be a long drive today as San Antonio is about 5 hrs from SPI. Once we'd been on the road for a couple of hours I noticed that the cactus were in full bloom and then a bit further on the wildflower show started. I'll have to spend some time on the internet to try and identify them but it was a spectacular sight. We were on the Interstate and the colour was up each side of the highway as well as all along the grassy divide. Fortunately the old highway ran parallel to the Interstate so we got off for a while so that we could stop and take pictures. It was the sheer numbers and varieties of flowers that blew me away....huge patches of white poppies and purple thistles; small deep purple flowers; another that looked like a wild geranium that was mauve with a darker mauve line through the petals;yellow, orange, blue, pink....it was endless and honestly, one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.  I'll never forget the sight. Of course there was still a destination to be made and we had to continue driving or I would have stayed all day. I was also treading VERY CAREFULLY as the snakes are also around and some of the grass was deep.

We got to the Best Western downtown, just 2 blocks from the Riverwalk. It was over 90 degrees and we waited until the sun went down before heading there for supper. It's an Easter holiday week in Mexico and they traditionally head to SPI and into Texas for their vacation so the Riverwalk was quite busy. We sat outside on a patio to eat and then did a walk-about before heading back to the hotel.  I started talking to a woman while waiting for Wayne to pay the bill and in the space of 15 minutes we'd traded life stories and shared a cigarette. We've met so many nice people and half the fun of these holidays is finding out where people come from and what they think makes them special.

Tomorrow we continue North to Austin and Dallas/Fort Worth and we'll try to make some short detours to see if the wildflowers are out there as well. The weather is supposed to continue to be hot....I could never be here in the summer as I get 'wild dog hot' at a certain temperature and can't cope at all. I'm not sure how they manage except to stay inside in the air conditioning once the thermometer hits 100 degrees...which is the norm during the summer.

It was a great day and we won't have much trouble sleeping tonight. Hope all is well there and until next time, love and hugs to all.