As they say, Missouri Loves Company...

Yay! Our little John Deere antenna ornament made it accross another state line!

DAY FOUR: Burlington, Iowa to Fairbury, Nebraska. Greetings from the Capri Motel in Fairbury, NE, where we have no phone signal but the wireless signal is A-OK, darn tootin'! We left the western bank of the Mighty Mississipp' this morning and tootled through southern Iowa and northern Missouri today on sideroads going west--look on a darn map and you will see that it is all westerly and makes sense so don't ask why. We are on vacation. Naturally, we had many adventures which we will share with you soon but which will have to wait since I am pooped. Even "K" is out of one-liners. Night night from the heartland!

Come On Feel the Illi(nois)e

DAY THREE: Defiance, Ohio to Burlington, Iowa: it's after midnight and we are now officially "West of the Mississippi" and needing to crash here at the Super 8 Motel...so we'll write more riveting stories from the road later. "K" did all the driving today and she really put on some serious miles and time. Especially considering that we gained an hour when we crossed from Eastern into Central time at Remington, IL. Plus, you know it's hardcore when your evening destination is the LAST Cracker Barrel restaurant ever (Morton, IL) and you absolutely HAVE to get the pancakes that Joyce at the Cleveland branch recommended. They were well worth it, and I even picked up a John Deere mini tractor antena ornament (made in China so it may be recalled shortly) for the car. Our trek today in a nutshell: we made it out of Ohio, crossed Indiana AND Illinois and just now made it into Iowa with nary a car breakdown (our Buick boys in Defiance, OH, holla!). Rock on. This is defs the heartland, with more (Iowa, maybe Missouri, and Nebraska) our way tomorrow.

Sorry, but this new alternator? It's just so dreamy...!

You might know that "K" was a total rocker back in the day. But did you know she's a CHRISTIAN ROCKER?

Perfect weather through Indiana...

Since we can only go 45-50 mph anyways, we've foregone the interstates and have opted for side roads heading west. Since we're going slower with the trailer, why not take in the scenery and local environs? So far, well worth it.

Speaking of the trailer, I still have lots of room in it, which makes opportunities at any flea market really endless indeed.

"K" inspecting the family holdings; Auburn, Indiana:

Lunch break at Mister Weenie's in Peru, Indiana:

If you can't practice yoga on the Indiana-Illinois state line, where ARE you going to practice?

"K": "...did you take the picture?
Lisaopolis: yeah hang on, almost done, is the light green?
"K": we're stopped because we're at a stop sign. (pause) You just took a picture of it.
Lisaopolis: ...OH."

See, Liz, a tribute to the song you wrote for us...and we're not even in Iowa yet:

Top-secret government superhybrid soybean testing site. Wait, wait...have I said too much?

More tomorrow--keep those comments coming. "AH", thank you for the precious kernels of wisdom about Iowa, we'll see where the road takes us tomorrow!

Goodnight!