Day 21: 8/19/09: Eldridge, Iowa

517 miles: camped in the driveway of Steve and Jane Randall in Eldridge, Iowa

Not a whole lot to write about today. Zoey and I left Salem about 7:30 this morning. For the first 200 miles, we stuck to the 2 lane roads as we headed south on US 81. Crossed into Nebraska and headed toward the Missouri River, which is the Iowa State Line. As we neared Omaha, it looked like time was running short. I had told Steve and Jane that I would get their place by 5:00. The GPS told me the only way we were going to do that was to jump on Interstate 80. So we did.

Wow!! After driving on 2 lanes for several days, the Interstate was a shock, especially a busy one like 80. Trucks, trucks, and more trucks. You start to realize that this country could not survive without tractor trailers. I did note the prevalence of wind turbines in Western Iowa. It seemed like they were everywhere. I did not find them obnoxious to look at. I'm really curious how much energy they generate. But it seems that this part of Iowa has accepted them.

I got to the Randall's right at 5:00. Steve and Jane were both in my high school class, and Steve roomed with me at college. We go back a long way. After a quick setup in the driveway, and a quick cold beer, we went out to dinner. They had made reservations at a place with a view overlooking the Mississippi River. I had a phenomenal dinner of Fillet Mignon. As we ate, a storm swept across the river, and the double rainbow resulted. People in the restaurant were all excited because of the rainbows. I snapped a quick couple of pictures with my cell phone.

We got back to the house and reminisced for awhile. In the morning, Steve, who works for John Deere, is going to give me a quick tour of the John Deere World Headquarters. That should be fun.

After that, Zoey and I are going to take 2 days and travel the 700 plus miles to Matt and Jaime's house in West Virginia, planning to arrive Friday afternon. We are slowly but surely making our way home. But I have to admit, I'm starting to get attached to my home in the camper. In fact, Jane had a room all set for me, but I felt more at home in the camper. So that's where I am.

That's all for today....