Last I wrote, I was leaving Rocky Mountain area and headed to Evergreen to visit with my high school friend, Julia. She truly wined and dined us. Her boys were staying with their grandparents and her husband was at a boat show, so she opened her gorgeous mountain home to share with us. She cooked salmon for she and I and we sat out on her balcony overlooking snow capped mountains and caught up. It was truly a break. Julia helped Marly get set up to make waffles before heading off to work. It took forever to get moving but we finally did and went 30min to Idaho Springs to the Indian Hot Springs. It was sorta cheesy, but right up our alley. Ashley met us with her girls. We enjoyed the mineral water, probably disturbed people who were relaxing. We had a picnic lunch and went for another dip before heading out. I drove an hour to Denver and met Kit, an ole TCC pal for an early pizza dinner. She gave me the tip to check out the center of the continental US near Lebanon, Kansas. I drove 6-7 hours and found a cute motel in the town. Ellie and I listened to The Great Alone by Kristin Hanna; such a good story! I got pulled over about 30min from Lebanon. The speed limit went from 65 to 50 to 30 pretty quickly and I missed the 50. Thankfully I got a warning. The next morning was another slow start; we are all over the place with sleep schedules and time zones. We took some pics as the center and ran around a bit. I drove another 7 hours, finishing the book. I stopped for an early dinner in Kansas City, Missouri for some good ole BBQ. I googled and found the perfect place, called A Little BBQ Joint. We got into St. Louis after a long day of driving. I used Expedia to book a motel but there was a snafu and I had to find another one last minute. It left much to be desired; I would have rather slept in the van. We got up and out as quick as I could muster and headed to see the Gateway Arch on the way to Hendersonville, a town outside Nashville, Tennessee. I started Four Winds, another Kristin Hanna novel. This one is much more depressing. We arrived in Hendersonville (another 6-7 hour drive) at the Skwaras. Andrew was one of Phil’s best college friends. They have 3 boys ages 6, 3 and 2. The weather was perfect. We spent most of our time in their gorgeous back yard, visiting with the Skwaras, Andrew’s mom, aunt and uncle. There were fireworks every night. The kids caught fireflies, played Wii and jumped on the trampoline. We swam in Andrew’s mom’s community pool and got Sonic ice cream. Andrew made up an egg race. Jennie came to mass with us and played the guitar for us in a jam session. It was an awesome weekend catching up with old friends and relaxing. The kids got along so well. This morning we got up and again took forever to get moving. I drove 6ish hours to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to visit with my cousin Amy and her husband Robby and youngest, Colter. This is the visiting portion of our trip. I’m looking forward for to lots of cousin time this week. We are so lucky to have all this hospitality!
Click here to see our pics of the week: https://photos.app.goo.gl/169PpZhg8PdFJRKf6
Click here to see our pics of the week: https://photos.app.goo.gl/169PpZhg8PdFJRKf6