It's Thursday, and our minds have turned towards home. It's hard to leave and yet we are anxious to get away. I feel like a horse that has been ridden hard, and is finally turned towards the home barn. Just let me fly. We have decided to stop in Colorado Springs, to visit with new friends we have made on this trip. We're excited about that. We met them in Houma, at the Twelve Oaks Bed and Breakfast.
The time in Tucson has been wonderful. First of all, the warmth is comforting and fun. We've had good times with Mom and with the whole family. THey've started a Friday night tradition, of getting together, with Dina's husband, Bob, doing the cooking. Those evenings have been special.
Yesterday, Mom, Gayle, Dina and I, had lunch out. We celebrated Dina's birthday and mine. Afterwards Mom went for chemo and another dive into misery. Sometimes it feels as if the cure is worse than the disease.
Last night, Tom and I and Dina, Bob and their sons David, and Ben, had supper at "The Depot". This pub, is a sports bar with ten or more television screens positioned around the room, broadcasting hockey, baseball, golf etc. One of the screens is set aside for playing "Trivia". We played Trivia. Each person gets an electronic box to use as they answer the questions. Your score is set out with all those who score in that pub, in Tucson, and even around the world. Tom, of course, scored very high and was ranked in North America. Bob said that was great for a first effort. I thought it was amazing. I managed 4th and sometimes 3rd in "The Depot" with about six or seven players. Considering I mostly guessing at the answers, (well intelligent not blind guessing), I was satisfied with my results. Anyway, it was fun. I didn't know this kind of thing even existed. We have continued to dance most nights as well. So we're getting our exercise. Tonight we have a lesson scheduled for 9 p.m. Tomorrow night the ballroom group are having a dance with a western theme. Tom will be able to wear his cowboy hat and jeans. Saturday morning, we head home.
Saturday
We've had a good day. Tonight we're settled into a luxury hotel. We found it in the coupon book. For $60 we have a king size bed, super comfortable, a separate area with a chesterfield and coffee table and small dining table. There is an easy chair in the sleeping area and an amazing office chair at the table. We also have a kitchenette with a microwave and a reasonable size fridge and of course a coffee maker. The bathroom is lovely with a big counter and a curved shower rod. Everything is gleaming clean. Downstairs there is a good sized pool and hot tub. Tomorrow morning we receive a full hot breakfast (whatever that means). Anyway, this is a night of luxury after a long day in the car. THe desk clerk complimented Tom on opening the car door for me. He also recommended an excellent Mexican restaurant within walking distance. So our stay in Santa Fe is great.
On the way here, I worked on the novel. The time sequence requires some work. Tomorrow, I will have a hard copy made at Staples so I can actually cut and paste without flipping screens. I just couldn't straighten it out on the computer. We won't get away as quickly as we had hoped because we'll have to wait for Staples to open. Other than that, we've seen many miles of desert and will see some more tomorrow. That's it for tonight.
Thursday night,
Well actually, it is Good Friday morning and we are down to the last lap of our journey. It’s been a wonderful trip. After we left Tucson we took two days to get to Colorado Springs, Colorado. We spent Sunday afternoon, evening, and Monday till after lunch with our new friends, Emily and Tom that we met at the Bed and Breakfast in Houma, Louisiana. They were gracious hosts. They took us to walk in the “Garden of the Gods.” It truly is one of God’s gardens. We saw magnificent natural stone edifices. This place is considered sacred by the native peoples of the region. Emily prepared a wonderful baked salmon supper for us and we had hours of lively, interesting conversation. Hopefully, Emily and Tom will come to visit us in the future.
After Colorado we began our march across the U.S. towards home. We stopped for the first night in Hays, Kansas. The next day we drove to Abilene and toured the Seelye Mansion. The owner of this beautifully preserved family dwelling, was our tour guide. Dr. Seelye developed and manufactured patent medicines. His home still has the original Edison light fixtures, carpets, etc. Nothing was corded off. We could touch the treasures of the past. In the basement was a one lane, five pin bowling alley that the Seeley family used when entertaining their guests. After Abilene spent the night in Kansas City. Once again we searched out a dance club and had an evening of dancing.
The next day we went to Hannibal Missouri and visited the home of Samuel Clemens – aka Mark Twain. That was interesting. I’m now ready to reread many of his books. Everything closed down at 5 p.m. so we drove on to Jacksonville, Illinois. We arrived late – about 7:30. The hotel clerk suggested we go downtown to Muggsies for supper. The food was amazing, the atmosphere great. Back at the hotel, I talked with Nancy and then we slept. Today, we drove to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Tonight, our hotel coupons got us a highclass motel – Lee’s Inn – with a beautiful swimming pool and hot tub for $55 plus tax. “The King’s Speech” was playing at a theatre in town, so off we went. We enjoyed that wonderful movie very much. Now it’s after 1 a.m. and time for bed. Tomorrow we drive to my sister, Anne’s and Saturday home.
