is there any more pie?

We started out of Clarion, PA at 8 AM and it looked like this:

We traveled with a big storm, torrents of rain, and tornado warnings all morning.

Here’s New York, when we finally got ahead of the storm.

And Connecticut.

And finally…home. Where Banjo Man stretches his tired legs!

We will be unpacking bags for days.

Banjo Man has now gone to town to get groceries. I offered to stop with him before we arrived home, but he said no. And then I promised I would behave myself, that I would not whine or twitch or hang over the shopping cart and moan about how much time it took to pick out vegetables. But he said he couldn’t take the chance. He said he didn’t believe I could be nice in the grocery store.

I would have, I really would have.

Nine days on the road have made me a more patient person.  Or maybe I’m just numb.

It will be so nice to go to the bathroom any time I want, without having to wait for an exit and then get out of the car.

Today I had to wait in line behind 8 Japanese tourists at a gas station/truck stop in Pennsylvania.  That was a first.

Another first:  tornado warnings.

Another first:  wrapping up in a blanket while napping as  Banjo Man drove I-84

Another first:  the GPS system deciding to go insane and not believe we were on a main road and telling us it would take 6 hours to drive 180 miles.

I think the GPS was as tired as we were after  2991 miles!!!!!!

Four states, eleven hours, 565 miles and a one-hour traffic jam.

Morning in Illinois.

Indiana

Ohio rest stop on the toll road.

Pennsylvania I-80 traffic jam

I have no internet access here in Lincoln.  So…..

I just wanted to tell you, very quickly…

We did not get caught in the Cheyenne snowstorms.

We did not get caught in the Nebraska “super cell” storms.

We did not get caught in the Nebraska tornadoes.

Today is Friday.

We are having breakfast with friends Saturday morning and then we are getting on the road.

I am desperately trying to make progress on Book 3, also known as THE HUSBAND SHOW.

It is impossible to write in the car.

We have repacked.  It no longer looks this bad.

And, best of all, I bought a new pair of cowboy boots in North Platte, Nebraska.  I will share a picture of them in a few days.  They have crystals and beads on them and are very fancy.

Scene from the bedroom window at the Hampton Inn, Sheridan, Wyoming:

Yesterday we took our time getting up. No rushing to get on the road (that will be for next week). Instead we acted like tourists and spent an hour walking around downtown Sheridan, which is a huge town with a vibrant main street. We even spent some time in the local music store, talking to the owners who are into bluegrass music. There was a great deal of “banjo chat” but I was busy signing the guest book and putting a pin on Rhode Island on the map by the front door.

I looked at my watch and realized that Hope Mountain Blues was gathered at our weekly music lesson and I wasn’t there.  Sigh.  At least I was in a music store, right?

I didn’t find any stores that sold cowboy boots.

Here’s the mannequin in the window of a secondhand store that didn’t have much inside of it except for the owner, who played his guitar and harmonica and seemed to be practicing for something.

Back on the road: It would look like this for the rest of the day.

This morning we are on our way to North Platte, Nebraska, only 222 miles east of here. It’s time to get off the road and visit with family for 24 hours.

Last night we went downtown (in Cheyenne, Wyoming) and ate at Sanford’s Pub, a huge restaurant with a huge menu. Banjo Man was so happy. He loved everything about that restaurant, which was decorated in a wild, funky, trash-heap way.

This makes two nights in a row that we’ve gone out to dinner “downtown”. I’m happy with yogurt in the room, or take-out sandwiches from Subway. I love hotel rooms. I hate to leave them to get BACK IN THE CAR to wander around trying to find a good place to eat.

Banjo Man, on the other hand, likes to explore new places to eat. I blame all those food shows on cable tv.  He watches a lot of them.

We have realized we didn’t pack very well.  I am now wearing shorts, and I have no idea if it’s cold outside or not.  Banjo Man had to go back to the car and rummage around in duffle bags until he found socks and underwear.  The car is so loaded up with stuff that we tend to laugh uncontrollably every morning when we look at the back seat.

It’s a little embarrassing.  I now point out large vans and say that is what we need for next year.   In the “way back” we have a guitar, a lap steel guitar, a banjo and a violin.  We also have a painting, assorted music books, kitchenware, a quilt-in-progress and assorted bags of clothes and cowboy boots.   We both have our “offices” with us, which adds to the piles of bags in the back seat.  We even have an extra bag for shoving stuff in when we don’t know what it is or if we need it or if it’s important and we’ve run out of room.

We need to repack in Nebraska.

It is insane.  I admit it.

I took a lot of pictures today.  I couldn’t stop myself.  Everything was beautiful.  There were clouds, and sunshine and rain.  And there were mountains.

Big Sky Country.  How beautiful is this!

Time for gas.  Next exit, Drummond.

I am partial to small Montana towns. Any chance I get to veer off the interstate and head down Main Street I take advantage of.

Look at what I found!

It used to be the post office, hence the safe. I bought a packet of needles, because I have a quilt in the back seat that needs its binding hemmed.  I don’t think I have a prayer of getting that little job done, but I’m often delusional (but you already knew that).

Thirsty?

Hungry for a mid-morning snack?

And then…back on the road.

Scenes from the hotel parking lot this morning:

Wait a minute.  Is that who I think it is??

Zoom.

Looks like Banjo Man is cleaning out sunflower seeds.  

Okay, time to get on the road….

Good morning, Montana!