Our Trip In Pictures

As the main purpose of our trip was to spend some quality time with The Big Guy's mom, our activities pretty much consisted of visiting with her for a few hours in the daytime, breaking for dinner, visiting again in the evening until bedtime and going home to my s-i-l's for a bit of rest before repeating the routine the next day again.

We did, however, catch a few notable moments along the way on film (or should I say, in digital images?)



The Missouri River ON the parking lot of the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa. We found the roof of their garage a great vantage point to see the flooding in the area. The road we normally go into Omaha on (I-29) was closed the entire time we were out there due to the flooding. I suspect it will be closed for sometime to come as the roadway itself and its underpinnings has been damaged by being submerged for so long. It made for some rather congested traffic on I-80 which was already under major repair construction in that area.


We did manage to squeeze in an exciting sports event while we were there. The advantage to going to see a 5/6 (year old) ball game is that they keep them short - 4 innings only - no outs, no score, everybody on the team bats each inning (no matter how many pitches it may take) . The other biggie was, they played at 8:30 in the morning when it was only in the high 80s (before the day's heat kicked in!) I think she's gonna be a star!!



Sunrise somewhere over Central Iowa. (I almost slept through it completely as we got up and on the road at 4:30 a.m. that day.)






Outside temperature (on blacktop) stopped in a traffic jam (for over 2 hours) on I-80 in Des Plains, Illinois on the way home. (The "official" temp in Chicago at the time was 100.) Don't you always wonder what the problem was when the jam suddenly breaks and there is no evidence of any apparent reason at all as you move on ?

It was really WAY TOO HOT to do much of anything but sit in the airconditioning for the entire time we were away. We were in the midst of that 2-week major heat wave the Midwest experienced. (Unfortuantely, it folowed us back home and attacked the East Coast, too, just as we got home!)

So, there you have it, folks, our ENTIRE travelogue. Hope you enjoyed it while in a cool room.

Back from "The Good Life in Nebraska"

You've heard of jet lag - well, I think I've had "road lag." We spent 24 hours on the highway between Wednesday and Thursday and then, another 6 on Saturday. Thank goodness for a comfy vehicle!



Our trip to Omaha was relatively uneventful. We spent lots of time with family "just hanging out." The Big Guy and I stayed with his Mom while his sister and brother-in-law got away for a few days. As the 24/7 caretakers, they need an occasional break so we encourage them to get away when we're around. It also gives us some one-on-one time with Mom.



We did get her out a bit to lunches, a couple of community concerts and even a few trips to the casino! She seemed tired but happy with her outings.



I dragged The Big Guy along to Half Price Books for a shopping spree. He hit the CD aisles while I gathered books. I was in my element!! (Love those dollar racks!) We don't have one of these stores near us so I stock pile when I get there. They're all around the country so if you see one, be sure to check it out.

There were family card games, dinners and chats with all the kids. All in all, we had a great time.






We did see something we had never seen there before - CORN in Iowa and Nebraska !!! (Imagine that!!!) Past visits have always been in early Spring or late Fall after the harvest. Now it's obvious why the Big Red are called Cornhuskers! It's EVERYWHERE !!

We came home to a big hole in the front yard. Those who were holding the fort down thought it'd be a nice surprise if they dug out a stump in the front yard. The stump got the last laugh and it's an ongoing project as of today! (Forty year old trees have had lots of time to grow DEEP roots!) We were definitely surprised!! No worries though, that work crew won't rest until they win the battle.

I found my scheduled blog posts had run but not necessarily in the format I'd planned. They did not date correctly and therefore didn't display correctly. Hopefully, you found them all and had a good read each day as I had some great Guest Bloggers help out. I have since gone back and corrected the formatting and dating issues. If you missed them, please duck back and have a good read.

"Onesiegate" struck over at Etsy while I was away! I only had one targeted listing suspended and, ironically, it is an actual Gerber-made product. The trademarked baby's head was clearly visible but the correct wording wasn't there. I have also addressed this issue since arriving home. (More on this later in the week!)

All in all, it was a relatively smooth homecoming. This is the first-time we've left someone here at home while we were gone and it did make a difference. I am, however, still having trouble getting back in the groove. I'm blaming the fact that we again hit the road on Saturday to attend Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA. I'll tell you about that great event tomorrow. It continues through next Sunday if you are in the area.

Now it's Monday and I still haven't unpacked!! Better get on that right now.

You KNEW I had to throw in an Iowa sunrise didn't you?

Pics from top to bottom: Crossing the Nebraska state line, Mom and me at a concert, b-i-l & "the learner's permit kid" entertaining themselves while waiting for lunch at a classy restaurant, our littlest Nebraskan, The Big Guy with his sister with that "soon-to-be" driver;