An Effing-Great Evening With The Heartland Dental Group

Fun With The Heartland Dental Group

Morning In Effingham

We both were awake by 5:00, waiting for the magic hour of 6:00, so I could walk downstairs and get us coffee from the breakfast bar.  We were in no great hurry to get on the road because the roads are snow covered, perhaps icy so we are going to give the crews time to salt the roads if necessary.  We have about a five-hour drive today to our son Tom's home in Lee's Summit, MO.

Leaving The Lake (Stedman Road)

We left the lake at 7:00, just as it began to snow and didn't stop until we were well into Ohio, 75 minutes later.  It was not fun driving #86, as the road was slushy, the cars and trucks in a hurry.  I took my time, never passed anyone until the blue skies came out in Ohio, for a bit.

Ohio

Ohio, then, was easy, gray skies but dry roads until we got outside of Indianapolis and then it began to snow again.  Fortunately, it did not stick on the roads although the flurries continued for almost an hour until we switched drivers in Illinois.

On The Road

It's not a favorite drive, especially this time of the year, flatlands, snow-covered fields between two cities, Columbus and Indianapolis, and numerous small towns.  Yet it always takes little over nine hours, no matter the weather or time of year.

Flurries And Wet Snow at Indiana/Illinois Line

We arrived at our Hampton Inn in Effingham at 3:30, our usual time, having gained an hour when we arrived in Indianapolis.  We were able to relax, watch some TV, catch up on news and emails on our computers before getting ready for dinner.  Because our go to a restaurant The Lone Star Steakhouse went out of business, we went to a new, highly recommended restaurant called the Firefly Grill, about a minute drive from our Hampton Inn.

Firefly Grill

We parked in the lot at 5:30 and it was already crowded.  When we walked in, the hostess said the bar was packed with a group and there probably weren't any seats.  We checked it out, sat at a table but the group noticed us looking at the open bar seats they were standing around and insisted that we take them.  They were all from Heartland Dental, with offices all over the Midwest, like Aspen Dental in the East.  They were having a great time, bought us beers, and we had fun talking with them. We ended up taking a  selfie and they promised to check it out this morning on our blog.  Because we sat towards the end of the bar, there were always two seats open for couples waiting for a table. First, we briefly talked with a couple from Springfield, IL, who were going to a country music concert just down the road.  Then a couple from Cleveland sat down and they were not only Slovenian (like Evie) both had best friends who lived down the street from my childhood house in Euclid, on 211 Street. They were on there way back to Cleveland from Phoenix where they had been for six weeks.  On our way out, a guy next to us, an oral surgeon, remarked how much he like my flannel shirt with leather elbow patches, so we talked with him a bit.  I would say we had an effing good time at the Firefly Grill.  And we were back at our Hampton by 8:30!! We watched the news, watched some TV, read and fell asleep way too early for us.  The day started out iffy but ended up with a bang.  We love bars.