IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME

The last week has been a long, tiring week, covering many, many miles, and like Dorothy and Toto, it's good to be home. We actually arrived home on Monday afternoon and were able to get our same spot at the campground. I must say that the weather has not been very welcoming with the rain and clouds being the norm since we got here.

Here is a quick run down of our trip back to Minnesota from Boston, MA. We left a week ago today and drove through Massachusetts and part of New York. This a part of the country that we hadn't driven through before, and it was beautiful. The hills of western Massachusetts and eastern New York were a surprise to me. I didn't realize it would be so lovely. On Thursday we finished up New York, drove through the western corner of Pennsylvania, and half way across Ohio. Again, it was not what I had expected as thousands of acres of vineyards lined the highway.

Friday was a long day. We finished Ohio,, drove across Indiana and Illinois and into Wisconsin before we stopped and camped by Stoughton. We also had made another stop along the way, in Huntly, Illinois, where we picked up Ernie's latest EBay purchase. An RV washer/dryer. It was taken out of a motorhome after only a couple of uses because the people decided they needed the closet space more than they needed a washing machine. (I actually think the same, but he decided differently!) He did get it for an excellent price, and all the original labels are still in place on the machine.

Saturday we drove to Eau Claire where hubby's family was having a reunion. Kari and Mike and three of their kids came, bringing with them two of our other grandsons. We had a good time visiting with relatives from all over, Alaska included. It rained all day, and we were very thankful for Roy's huge garage that easily held all the relatives. The next morning, still in the rain, we headed to our son's home and a 24 hour visit with him, his wife and two sons. And their new puppy! It was while we were there that we saw the awful news about the flooding in southeastern Minnesota and the deaths from this weather system.

We got to our regular camp spot in the late afternoon on Monday, and since then have seen some kids and grandkids, and my mom and sister. We have talked with the rest and hope to see them all soon. Now Ernie is running around town checking on banking, truck repair, insurance questions, and setting up appointments for various things.

Me? I'm sitting at Dunn Bros coffee shop and enjoying being in one spot for awhile. And again I say, it's good to be home. Oh, I meant to tell you that the tolls on the turnpikes totaled $100. Honestly. It was $100 for our truck and 35 foot 5th wheel RV.