Home

We are home. We left Indianapolis in dense fog this morning and stayed in fog for a few hours. The sun started coming out as we were north of Bloomington, IL. Then we stopped for lunch in Dixon, IL and found ice! So the rest of the trip was on ice - quite a mess! Ray had quite a time getting the van into the driveway and then into the garage but he finally made it without mishap!

We will head for Wisconsin tomorrow for the services and funeral for Uncle Bud.

Indianapolis, IN

We got up to heavy fog this morning that began to lift by the time we got on the road. As we traveled through West Virginia, there was patchy fog all morning and some low clouds too.


We stopped in Jackson, Ohio at a quilt shop that was closed. Looking through the window, I decided that was ok! Ray was willing so we tried another quilt shop in Chillicothe, OH. - Creations Sew Clever. Nice shop - they also have an online business. The shop is in an old funeral home so the building is also very interesting. We asked the owner where to eat and she gave us two places that are right next to each other on Water Steet - Dock at Water and Old Canal Smoke House. Ray chose the Smoke House and it was awesome! Of course we had pulled pork...Tonight we are on the north side of Indianapolis. We just came home from a walk around the mall, dinner, and a stop at Trader Joe's. It was Ray's first trip to a Trader Joe's so we had fun and bought a few interesting groceries. We are at a Jamieson Inn - nice, clean, and very quiet. Right now there is only one other car in the parking lot!

Beckley, WV

Brad came by this morning about 7AM to leave a few things off for us to deliver to Illinois. Then we had breakfast at the motel and talked with Stan. He is the maintenance man at the hotel and we see him every time we stay there so he always has to visit with us...

We got on the road early (for us) and things went well until we got north of Winston-Salem, NC. We started getting freezing rain and the temperature dropped to right around freezing.

We saw these signs before every bridge. Well, they mean it! The roads were pretty clear but the bridges were not! We saw many accidents - imagine fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, tow trucks. Then add pickup trucks on their roofs, SUVs on their sides, trucks that have rolled, cars that are smashed. Now multiply that by 10 or more.















We spent time waiting more than once ....



























When we would finally get past an accident, people were cautious - they hit their brakes at every bridge. FINALLY, people seemed to realize that slowing down before the bridge was better! We made it but it was stressful driving for Ray - not so much the ice as the NC drivers!





We stopped in Wytheville, VA. and visited a neat little fabric shop with lots of batiks. They recommended the Log House restaurant - it was very good. We were warned the service was very slow - they were right!












Inside the Log House restaurant.








In West Virginia every county seems to be a Certified Business Location. What's with that?















Well, we are in Beckley, WV. tonight. We went to the mall and walked for a while. There is a lot of traffic and a lot of people around here - LOTS of skiers. So it takes a while to go anywhere and do anything. We are now back from dinner and plan to just relax.

Fuquay-Varina

It was 15 degrees last night and there was frost on the car this morning - a little cold but a bright, sunny day. About 11:30 this morning, we found out that my uncle passed away last night. We are happy that he no longer has pain but so sad for his family. We decided to go on to Brad and Sheila's because we were only 3 hours away and then head for home tomorrow morning. We arrived around 3PM and had a great visit that ended way to soon about 8:30PM. We didn't get to talk with Brad or Sheila very much. Our time was spent mostly with the kids...

Charleston, W Viginia

Well, we dodged potholes all morning - the roads are full of them! It was cold but mostly sunny all day. We ate lunch at Gramma's Pizza right on Main Street in Batavia, OH. That may have been the best pizza we have ever had! They make the dough daily, sometimes 2 or 3 times to keep up with demand. We had today's special - Bacon/Tomato/Ranch pizza. The people running the place are Greek and if we hadn't been so full, we would have tried the baklava. Wish we had gotten a take-out! Now we are just south of Charleston, WV. and it is cold here! We just walked back from the Texas Steakhouse and that wind is really bitter! I think we'll be boring and just celebrate the New Year here at the motel - Ray has a John Wayne movie on TV so we are set! Happy New Year to all!

We have no news on Uncle Bud but we continue to pray for that family.

Crawfordsville, Indiana

We got a good start this morning. Even had the chance to visit with one of our county's finest when we stopped at the coffee shop in Stockton. Ron S. was there with a Stockton officer. Anyway it has been a beautiful day. There was no snow anywhere on the ground by the time we got to Bloomington, IL. Going east from there, there was LOTS of flooding. And we saw many flocks of geese. Some were going north and some were really disorganized! We arrived here in Crawfordsville about 4:30 eastern time. We decided to walk for a while - it was 50 degrees(!) but the wind was cold. The lady at the motel recommended Creekside Lodge for dinner - great salad and Ray's brownie cheesecake was superb!

We continue to keep Uncle Bud, Aunt Helen, Dave, Sarah, Lisa, Eric, and Izzy in our prayers. The update from Sarah this afternoon said decline is occurring in all areas.

I think we are ready ...

I think we are set to head out tomorrow. My uncle is critically ill so we have decided to go to Brad and Sheila's and then head straight home. We'd like to be here for my aunt. We'll still post updates on this short trip and hope to do the Chattanooga, Cumberland Falls (KY), Brown County (IN) thing later. Please keep Uncle Bud and Aunt Helen in your prayers.

We are getting ready ....

We plan to head south on Tuesday. We have spent a lot of time today deciding on a tentative itinerary and making some reservations. Ray has lots of ideas for things to do in Chattanooga on our way home. So we just need to take care of a few things in the next two days and then pack and we'll be all set to go!