Missing Family

Beth's Family

Tom's Family

It's 5:50 and I am the only one in the Hampton Inn lounge since it does not open until 6:00 but I couldn't sleep so I thought I might as well get up. For whatever reason, both of us had a fitful night. We have only a five-hour drive today since we are staying at the Englewood Hampton Inn, near Dayton.

Yesterday was an uneventful drive and we drove farther than we thought, into Ohio rather than staying in Richmond, IN like last year. It took eight hours as expected but with the time change we did not arrive until 4:40. Whenever we leave Tom's home and head east on #70, we always seem to get a striking sunrise.

It's not our favorite drive, through the flat lands and vast fields of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and finally, Ohio. We made two stops for food at Mc Donalds, for breakfast and lunch, and once for gas, and traded driving every couple of hours. 

Once we arrived at our Hampton, to relaxed until 6:00 when we drove just up the street to Meijer, an amazing grocery store.  It would give Wegmans a run for the best grocery store. It was also a clothing and everything store, like a Target I suppose. We picked up groceries for tonight and tomorrow, then went next door to El Toro, a recommended Mexican restaurant, a good choice. We struck up a conversation with an amusing couple at the bar. He was a Cincinnati Bengals fan and a die-hard Ohio State fan, ready to fire the coaching staff after their devastating loss to rival Michigan. We made the mistake of ordering meals. Evie had flautas and I had carnitas, both coming with rice and refried beans so we ended up with doggy bags. 

We were back at 7:30, wondering how we would stay awake long enough to stay on a decent sleep schedule. and get a good night's sleep.  Fortunately, Hampton had HBO and we happened to see that Howard Stern's interview with Bruce Springsteen was on. It was amazing, both the Boss, who sang various songs, and Howard, who asked penetrating and thoughtful questions. We could watch it again as both were humanized by the interview, not just a famous musician and talk show host. 

With luck, we should be home in time to watch the US play Iran in futbol.