I made it through another day. I'm now at a Days Inn in Wheelersburg which is in southeastern Ohio. Admittedly, the last 2 days of driving has both been boring at times and interesting at times. It is nice seeing all of the greenery that is in the midwest. As a 'desert rat' (born and raised in Arizona), I always find all of the green grasses, crops and other vegetation of the midwest very interesting. So, I do enjoy seeing the scenery as I drive along. However, admittedly, I've been spending a lot of hours behind the wheel and it does get boring at times.
I did have somewhat of adventure this afternoon. I am currently using a combination of Mapquest and a Garmin navigation unit to guide me towards my destination in Suffolk, VA. Both Mapquest and the Garmin unit are programmed to reach the destination in the least time instead of the least distance. Late this afternoon, I found myself on a twisty windy road in southeastern Ohio. It was very scenic, but it also was quite slow. The speed limit was 55, but it was hard to reach that speed due to all of the twists, curves ups and downs of the road. So, while I'm sure the Garmin map program (which includes speed limits) probably showed this as a good road to go on, in fact, from a time standpoint, it was quite time consuming. Fortunately, as I indicated earlier, it was quite scenic (lots of trees, grasses and other green vegetation in a hilly area) and I did enjoy the drive just as long as I focused on the scenery and not on the clock.
For those who might be interested, I have a CD player in my car that can play up to 6 CD's at a time. I currently have five CD's set up on random mode. They include chants by Cisteran? monks, Beethoven, John Tesh, Patti LaBelle and Moody Blues. I checked them out at the Scottsdale public library. I find that I enjoy Beethoven and John Tesh's music the most while driving. I almost get a high (sort of like as in Rocky Mountain High by John Denver) while listening to Beethoven or Tesh while driving through the rolling grasslands and farmlands of the midwest. At times, it is very enjoyable. For me, music is very special in that it is almost like a window to one's divinity or perhaps I should stay to God or to the Holy Spirit. For me, music represents a special way that one can get closer to God in a way that doesn't involve the mind or intellect. It's a feeling that's really neat with the right music played in an environment where I can really focus on the music. Admittedly, I'm very poor at playing music with a musical instrument or singing (at least, Dawn always kiddingly told me that I was a terrible singer ***grin***). But I very much admire those who can play or sing music well. As far as I'm concerned, music is God's gift to man and I'm very appreciative of those who can make music come alive.
Well, I have about 500 miles to go, so I should be able to make to Bekki's and Bob's place in Suffolk, VA by tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to seeing them both to see how they are doing and to rest up from my long drive.
Until later...........
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Travel to Virginia begins
First, a technical point, as you may know, this blog gives readers the capability to write comments to the author if they so desire. However, I had incorrect settings for the comments section of this blog. So, if you did try to include comments during the last week or so, they would not have been successfully posted to the blog. I did change the settings so that hopefully now you can make comments to the blog if you so desire. If you continue to have any problems publishing any comments, you're welcome to send me an email about the problem at crwasser@gmail.com.
Well, I started my travels this morning to Virginia from Watertown, South Dakota. My travels today included South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. I am now in LeClaire, Iowa. I still have about 1100 miles to go to travel to Suffolk, VA. Hopefully, I'll make it in 2 days although it is possible it will take 3 days depending on if I have any side trips or not.
I do want to thank Jim and Jeanne for putting up with me for the last 3 days. They did an excellent job of keeping me well fed (including a lot of tasty vegetables from their home garden) and showing me the sights around Watertown, South Dakota. It was only the second time we met (the first time just a few months ago) and I really enjoyed getting to know them better.
By the way, I have a blue cap that I found in my car from when I was camping. I think it might be Robert's. If you want me to mail the cap to you or whatever, please let me know.
Well, I had a long day traveling and I'm tired, so I'll be signing off now. Until later...........
Well, I started my travels this morning to Virginia from Watertown, South Dakota. My travels today included South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. I am now in LeClaire, Iowa. I still have about 1100 miles to go to travel to Suffolk, VA. Hopefully, I'll make it in 2 days although it is possible it will take 3 days depending on if I have any side trips or not.
I do want to thank Jim and Jeanne for putting up with me for the last 3 days. They did an excellent job of keeping me well fed (including a lot of tasty vegetables from their home garden) and showing me the sights around Watertown, South Dakota. It was only the second time we met (the first time just a few months ago) and I really enjoyed getting to know them better.
By the way, I have a blue cap that I found in my car from when I was camping. I think it might be Robert's. If you want me to mail the cap to you or whatever, please let me know.
Well, I had a long day traveling and I'm tired, so I'll be signing off now. Until later...........
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Sad to say - last day in Watertown
Last night, Jim and Jeanne invited their neighbors Paul and Connie Larson, over for dinner. Paul is a retired Lutheran pastor and retired MD. Connie is a retired nurse. Among other things, they talked about their experiences as medical missionaries in Madagascar. It was very interesting. Jim and Paul talked also about their challenges with growing various plants on their lots and problems with various animals such as rabbits, squirrels and others interfering with their growing various plants here. They have mild summers and very cold winters here in South Dakota. During the summer though, they have many plants that grow very well during this relatively short growing season. They told me that this summer has been wetter and cooler than usual, which makes it very comfortable for me. Much more comfortable than what my friends back home in Phoenix/Scottsdale are currently experiencing.
This morning, Jim and Jeanne invited me to a Democratic Party meeting here in Watertown. The speaker was from Bahrain, a country near Iran. He spoke of the Middle East problems from what I would call an Arab perspective. I don't know how accurate (if such a term can be used on anyone's views of the Middle East) his views are, but it sure puts the problems of the Middle East in a different light than what you typically hear in the American media.
Tomorrow, I begin my trip to see my sister in law, Bekki, and her husband, Bob, in Suffolk, Virginia. It's going to take 3 or 4 days to get there from here (over 1600 miles). I want to get there prior to the anniversary of Dawn's death on August 11th. Bekki was Dawn's only sister. This day is going to be a special and perhaps an emotionally difficult day for me if not also for her. My experience since Dawn's death is that these special days (such as her birthday, wedding anniversary, Christmas, etc) are often significantly more difficult than what I first expect them to be. While hopefully this is not the case this time, time will tell.
As I understand it, we're going to do some bicycle riding this afternoon. I'm looking forward to it. Admittedly, my exercise program that I had back home has been totally disrupted. So, any opportunity to both exercise and enjoy the greenery around here is very much appreciated.
Write to you later.
This morning, Jim and Jeanne invited me to a Democratic Party meeting here in Watertown. The speaker was from Bahrain, a country near Iran. He spoke of the Middle East problems from what I would call an Arab perspective. I don't know how accurate (if such a term can be used on anyone's views of the Middle East) his views are, but it sure puts the problems of the Middle East in a different light than what you typically hear in the American media.
Tomorrow, I begin my trip to see my sister in law, Bekki, and her husband, Bob, in Suffolk, Virginia. It's going to take 3 or 4 days to get there from here (over 1600 miles). I want to get there prior to the anniversary of Dawn's death on August 11th. Bekki was Dawn's only sister. This day is going to be a special and perhaps an emotionally difficult day for me if not also for her. My experience since Dawn's death is that these special days (such as her birthday, wedding anniversary, Christmas, etc) are often significantly more difficult than what I first expect them to be. While hopefully this is not the case this time, time will tell.
As I understand it, we're going to do some bicycle riding this afternoon. I'm looking forward to it. Admittedly, my exercise program that I had back home has been totally disrupted. So, any opportunity to both exercise and enjoy the greenery around here is very much appreciated.
Write to you later.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Good times in Watertown
I've been at Jim and Jeanie's place for a couple of days now and they are treating me well. Lots of good food, much of it from their vegetable garden. They're definitely into eating healthy foods, a subject on which I admittedly have much to learn.
Today has been a busy day. They have taken me to an art museum primarily showing Terry Redlin paintings, an artist of wildlife and Americana who grew up in Watertown. Also, we toured the house of the first South Dakota governor where we received a history lesson on the Dakota territory and South Dakota. We also visited a King Tut museum that had replicas of various items associated with the excavation of King Tut's burial.
Yesterday, we rode bicycles around their neighborhood including a nearby Catholic nuns' convent. We also visited a friend of theirs, Dr. Paul Larson, a retired Lutheran pastor. Jim and Jeanne are Catholic who say grace in a traditional way (I am told) by making the sign of the cross, then Jim saying a brief special prayer and they again making the sign of the cross. I'm learning their ways of praying prior to a meal. I guess it is a little like when in Rome, do as the Romans do. By the way, my relatives in Idaho, 'sang' a prayer prior to their meals at the campsite, which is another interesting way to say grace prior to a meal.
Jim and Jeanne are also quite liberal in their politics and I've already heard an earful on the problems of involving the insurance companies in the proposed medical health care bill currently being considered by Congress. Jeanne was the former executive director of the South Dakota Peace and Justice Center. They've already provided me a number of books to read on various political subjects, so I've plenty of books to read for the balance of my trip. I'm presently reading a book by Pat Buchanan they provided me on questioning the necessity of our (and Great Britain's) involvement in World Wars I and II. While they don't agree with Buchanan's conservative credentials, they do indicate some agreement with Buchanan's views on these wars and do admire his integrity associated with what he believes.
While I feel I'm more politically liberal than most people in Arizona, I'm also more conservative than some of my relatives. My sister considers me a conservative Democrat and has called me a closet Republican. While I do believe our health care system is broken and needs to be changed, I also feel that we still need to include the insurance companies in any solution to the medical care problem in the United States since, right or wrong, I believe they have enough clout that any health care plan would not pass without their support.
Oh well, enough of politics. Admittedly, I have 'not' been keeping up to date with the news since being on my vacation and don't know the latest regarding various political happenings. Frankly, that suits me fine since the news and politics, from my viewpoint, can be awfully depressing much of the time.
So, until later........
Today has been a busy day. They have taken me to an art museum primarily showing Terry Redlin paintings, an artist of wildlife and Americana who grew up in Watertown. Also, we toured the house of the first South Dakota governor where we received a history lesson on the Dakota territory and South Dakota. We also visited a King Tut museum that had replicas of various items associated with the excavation of King Tut's burial.
Yesterday, we rode bicycles around their neighborhood including a nearby Catholic nuns' convent. We also visited a friend of theirs, Dr. Paul Larson, a retired Lutheran pastor. Jim and Jeanne are Catholic who say grace in a traditional way (I am told) by making the sign of the cross, then Jim saying a brief special prayer and they again making the sign of the cross. I'm learning their ways of praying prior to a meal. I guess it is a little like when in Rome, do as the Romans do. By the way, my relatives in Idaho, 'sang' a prayer prior to their meals at the campsite, which is another interesting way to say grace prior to a meal.
Jim and Jeanne are also quite liberal in their politics and I've already heard an earful on the problems of involving the insurance companies in the proposed medical health care bill currently being considered by Congress. Jeanne was the former executive director of the South Dakota Peace and Justice Center. They've already provided me a number of books to read on various political subjects, so I've plenty of books to read for the balance of my trip. I'm presently reading a book by Pat Buchanan they provided me on questioning the necessity of our (and Great Britain's) involvement in World Wars I and II. While they don't agree with Buchanan's conservative credentials, they do indicate some agreement with Buchanan's views on these wars and do admire his integrity associated with what he believes.
While I feel I'm more politically liberal than most people in Arizona, I'm also more conservative than some of my relatives. My sister considers me a conservative Democrat and has called me a closet Republican. While I do believe our health care system is broken and needs to be changed, I also feel that we still need to include the insurance companies in any solution to the medical care problem in the United States since, right or wrong, I believe they have enough clout that any health care plan would not pass without their support.
Oh well, enough of politics. Admittedly, I have 'not' been keeping up to date with the news since being on my vacation and don't know the latest regarding various political happenings. Frankly, that suits me fine since the news and politics, from my viewpoint, can be awfully depressing much of the time.
So, until later........
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
I made it!
Well, I made it into Watertown South Dakota yesterday evening. The trip to my cousin's place was quite nice with green rolling farmlands and grasslands most of the way to their place. The weather in Watertown is refreshingly cool (admittedly, Jim has indicated that the weather has been cooler and wetter this summer than normal, but I'm happy to benefit from it). Jim and Jeanne Koster live on a 3-1/2 acre site just outside of the Watertown city limits. They have a vegetable garden. Much of what they eat comes from their vegetable garden.
We had a good talk last night by our mutual relatives, etc. I mentioned earlier that Jim is a cousin who I met for the first time a few months ago. I also found that he has a brother (another cousin) that I never met that lives near Waco, TX. I originally thought that Jim grew up in Forida which was why I thought we never met each other before this year. However, I found out that's not the case. While he did spend a little time in Florida, his father, Robert Koster, my uncle, was a military officer who moved around a lot to various air force bases, etc both in the United States and in other countries including Japan and the Phillipines. In addition, his parents were divorced when Jim was quite young. While he did spend some time with his father at near various air force bases, he also spent much of his childhood with his mother during which time he generally didn't see his Koster relatives.
I'm planning to relax and see some sights in and around Watertown. If everything goes as planned, I'll stay with Jim and Jeanne through Thursday and then travel to Virginia.
More will be coming later.
We had a good talk last night by our mutual relatives, etc. I mentioned earlier that Jim is a cousin who I met for the first time a few months ago. I also found that he has a brother (another cousin) that I never met that lives near Waco, TX. I originally thought that Jim grew up in Forida which was why I thought we never met each other before this year. However, I found out that's not the case. While he did spend a little time in Florida, his father, Robert Koster, my uncle, was a military officer who moved around a lot to various air force bases, etc both in the United States and in other countries including Japan and the Phillipines. In addition, his parents were divorced when Jim was quite young. While he did spend some time with his father at near various air force bases, he also spent much of his childhood with his mother during which time he generally didn't see his Koster relatives.
I'm planning to relax and see some sights in and around Watertown. If everything goes as planned, I'll stay with Jim and Jeanne through Thursday and then travel to Virginia.
More will be coming later.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Travels from Powell, WY to Lemmon, SD
During the last couple of days, I’ve seen a large number of bikers traveling both through Yellowstone and east of Yellowstone Park. I found out that there is an Annual Sturgis Rally in Spearfish, S.D beginning tomorrow. This is where a large number of motorcycle riders congregate each year. I was warned earlier by Jim (my cousin in Watertown SD) to not try to obtain lodging anywhere near Sturgis S.D. or Spearfish S.D. since they would most surely be fully booked due to this rally.
At the motel where I stayed at last night in Powell, WY, they had a complimentary breakfast near their lobby. A lady there and I struck up a conversation where I discovered that she and her husband were riding with a motorcycle group to the above Sturgis rally. She said she rode her own Harley Davidson motorcycle, I believe. At least, she indicated that it was a motorcycle that was too heavy for her to lift if it tipped over. I was surprised that she was into motorcycles since she was an attractive lady in regular clothes with no motorcycle clothing items on her. She definitely was not a stereotypical biker lady. She talked about how she became involved with motorcycles and how she enjoys motorcycling. She also talked about the dangers of motorcycling. She works in a Radiology Dept in a hospital in Georgia where she sees more than her share of serious motorcycle injuries.
It made me think that maybe motorcycling is something I should look into further upon my return from my vacation. I know, some of you who know me better are probably thinking I’m too easily influenced by attractive women. Well, I have to admit that I’m guilty as charged. I’ll probably get over this idea in a few days.
I made good progress on my trip to Watertown SD. From Powell, Wyoming, I traveled back up to Montana, east to North Dakota and just passed over the border to South Dakota. I was considering traveling all the way into Watertown today but it was going to be about 10:30 or 11 PM before I got there. I didn’t want to disturb Jim and Jeanne that late. I was also getting tired so I stopped in a small town on the border between North Dakota and South Dakota called Lemon, South Dakota. I found a place called the Dakota Lodge and I found it to be the best motel I’ve stayed in yet and at a very reasonable price. This is the first non-chain motel I’ve stayed at on this trip and it definitely has been a positive experience. I’ll have to more fully consider non-chain motels in future towns I visit.
I’m increasingly relying on the Garmin navigation unit that I purchased in Idaho. I just program where I want to go, whether I want to use the shortest route or the quickest route (these are often different) and let it guide me to my destination. It’s been especially helpful when I make a wrong turn in a strange town. It then gives me directions on how to get back onto the correct route. It also provides additional interim directions to specific motels, restaurants etc. I definitely would recommend them on any road trips to unfamiliar locations, etc.
Lemmon, SD is the smallest town I’ve stayed in on this trip and also seems to be the friendliest. My experience so far on this trip is there is a definite correlation on the size of the town and the friendliness of the town. The smaller a town is, the friendlier it is, and vice versa.
I also noticed that this town had a lot of broken windows in the buildings around here. I asked about it and was told that they had a hail storm about a month ago that damaged many windows in town. I just find this very surprising in that a month ago would have been the beginning of July. We (the Phoenix area) had above 100 degree weather and they have cold enough weather that they have serious hail damage to their town. Obviously, we live in a big country to have such a large difference in weather in one country.
Well, enough said for now. Write to you later.
At the motel where I stayed at last night in Powell, WY, they had a complimentary breakfast near their lobby. A lady there and I struck up a conversation where I discovered that she and her husband were riding with a motorcycle group to the above Sturgis rally. She said she rode her own Harley Davidson motorcycle, I believe. At least, she indicated that it was a motorcycle that was too heavy for her to lift if it tipped over. I was surprised that she was into motorcycles since she was an attractive lady in regular clothes with no motorcycle clothing items on her. She definitely was not a stereotypical biker lady. She talked about how she became involved with motorcycles and how she enjoys motorcycling. She also talked about the dangers of motorcycling. She works in a Radiology Dept in a hospital in Georgia where she sees more than her share of serious motorcycle injuries.
It made me think that maybe motorcycling is something I should look into further upon my return from my vacation. I know, some of you who know me better are probably thinking I’m too easily influenced by attractive women. Well, I have to admit that I’m guilty as charged. I’ll probably get over this idea in a few days.
I made good progress on my trip to Watertown SD. From Powell, Wyoming, I traveled back up to Montana, east to North Dakota and just passed over the border to South Dakota. I was considering traveling all the way into Watertown today but it was going to be about 10:30 or 11 PM before I got there. I didn’t want to disturb Jim and Jeanne that late. I was also getting tired so I stopped in a small town on the border between North Dakota and South Dakota called Lemon, South Dakota. I found a place called the Dakota Lodge and I found it to be the best motel I’ve stayed in yet and at a very reasonable price. This is the first non-chain motel I’ve stayed at on this trip and it definitely has been a positive experience. I’ll have to more fully consider non-chain motels in future towns I visit.
I’m increasingly relying on the Garmin navigation unit that I purchased in Idaho. I just program where I want to go, whether I want to use the shortest route or the quickest route (these are often different) and let it guide me to my destination. It’s been especially helpful when I make a wrong turn in a strange town. It then gives me directions on how to get back onto the correct route. It also provides additional interim directions to specific motels, restaurants etc. I definitely would recommend them on any road trips to unfamiliar locations, etc.
Lemmon, SD is the smallest town I’ve stayed in on this trip and also seems to be the friendliest. My experience so far on this trip is there is a definite correlation on the size of the town and the friendliness of the town. The smaller a town is, the friendlier it is, and vice versa.
I also noticed that this town had a lot of broken windows in the buildings around here. I asked about it and was told that they had a hail storm about a month ago that damaged many windows in town. I just find this very surprising in that a month ago would have been the beginning of July. We (the Phoenix area) had above 100 degree weather and they have cold enough weather that they have serious hail damage to their town. Obviously, we live in a big country to have such a large difference in weather in one country.
Well, enough said for now. Write to you later.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
The journey continues
Today was an interesting day. I started from Bozeman Montana traveling east on Interstate 90. During my traveling, I noticed that there was an exit for the northern entrance to Yellowstone Park. You may recall that I chickened out **grin** from entering Yellowstone from the west entrance yesterday afternoon. It was later in the afternoon and I was concerned about finding adequate lodging in Yellowstone. Since it was earlier in the day this time, I decided to take the northern Yellowstone entrance and travel through at least a portion of Yellowstone. I went in the northern entrance and exited from the eastern entrance. Below are a few pictures of the sights I found there.
Due to the winding roads and slower travel in the park, I turned off the CD player and opened all my windows in the Highlander plus the moonroof. This allowed me to more fully experience the sights and sounds of Yellowstone including the wonderful cool weather there. As many of you know, Yellowstone is a beautiful place and well worth the visit there. Unfortunately, I could only spend part of the day there.
I found some lodging about 80 miles outside the east entrance of Yellowstone in a small town called Powell Wyoming. Fortunately, this motel, 'America's Best Value Inn' as they call themselves also and WiFi access to the internet. I first tried finding lodging in Cody, Wyoming but I had some difficulty there due to it being Saturday night and Cody being the closest town to the east entrance of Yellowstone.
Unfortunately, with this side trip, I find myself still almost as many miles away from my destination of Watertown, SD as I was yesterday. It looks like it may now by Monday before I make it there. Fortunately, I spoke with Jim and Jeanne (they're the ones I'm seeing in Watertown, SD), and they are very understanding about my delay.
So, until later, hope everyone is doing well.
Due to the winding roads and slower travel in the park, I turned off the CD player and opened all my windows in the Highlander plus the moonroof. This allowed me to more fully experience the sights and sounds of Yellowstone including the wonderful cool weather there. As many of you know, Yellowstone is a beautiful place and well worth the visit there. Unfortunately, I could only spend part of the day there.
I found some lodging about 80 miles outside the east entrance of Yellowstone in a small town called Powell Wyoming. Fortunately, this motel, 'America's Best Value Inn' as they call themselves also and WiFi access to the internet. I first tried finding lodging in Cody, Wyoming but I had some difficulty there due to it being Saturday night and Cody being the closest town to the east entrance of Yellowstone.
Unfortunately, with this side trip, I find myself still almost as many miles away from my destination of Watertown, SD as I was yesterday. It looks like it may now by Monday before I make it there. Fortunately, I spoke with Jim and Jeanne (they're the ones I'm seeing in Watertown, SD), and they are very understanding about my delay.
So, until later, hope everyone is doing well.
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