New York, New York....

Greetings from northwestern New York! We put the pedal to the metal today and made it over the Pennsylvania border & into New York. We're "roughing it" tonight in a cabin at a KOA campground that's about 400 yards away from Lake Erie. It's supposed to rain all night, so we decided not to chance getting soaked. With showers, AC and free wireless Internet, it's not really camping, but I am enjoying the fresh air as I type this.

As the trip goes on, I am creating a "Things I Learned" list, much to Joyce's chagrin. Once it reaches 10, I will post the complete list. I'm pretty sure Joyce will find some way to get back at me -- the list so far only has two items and they both relate to her.

Tomorrow's itinerary is to get through New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, and arrive at Joyce's parents' house late in the evening. We do plan a pit stop at the Ben & Jerry's factory. I'm drooling thinking about the ice cream!

That's it for today. I was going to post some photos from Lake Erie, but I'm too tired/lazy to do it today. Plus, I'm STILL waiting to hear from Brenda's hubby about Baby Overton.
Lisa

Maine or Bust!

Greetings from Indiana! I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. My weekend turned out to be pretty interesting.

I am now on the road to Maine with Joyce and her two kids. We left bright & early this morning and are now in the Eastern Time Zone, still about 1,000 miles from our destination. We had one emergency potty break, and the most excitement we had was seeing Eddie Murphy.

Seriously. There was a van decked out with logos promoting the upcoming "Meet Dave" movie and it had a trailer with a larger-than-life model of Eddie Murphy's head. We waited & watched, but no other body parts came down the freeway. Talk about movie trailers!

Tomorrow, our goal is to make it to the Pennsylvania state line and camp somewhere. Wednesday we will begin acting more like tourists -- we plan to drive through the Adirondack mountain range and then on into Vermont.
I will try to blog (with photos) as the trip evolves.
Til next time! Lisa

2000 miles later...

I can't believe it's been more than two weeks since I last posted a blog! My excuse is that I was on the road & having too much fun to be online very much.

The new car is working out fantastic! Pumping gas is virtually painless now. I'm averaging 32-34 mpg, which is more than DOUBLE what I got when driving the other gas-guzzlers. I love it and definitely don't have any buyer's remorse.

On June 19, I hit the road for Chicago to see my girl Brenda.

She is having a baby -- sooner, rather than later -- so it was great to see her before she adds to her family. She and her hubby Bobby are so cute:

As of today, she's scheduled to give birth on July 8 -- a whopping two weeks earlier than planned! I wish her & Bob the best of luck with the delivery & can't wait to meet the newest Overton.

While Brenda was at work on Monday the 23rd, I went on an adventure to Chicago. Brenda lives in the cool 'burbs of Chicago, a hop & skip from the Metra commuter train. I took that to Union Station downtown, then got on the El and went to explore the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Of course I forgot my camera -- so no pics of the cool architecture. After exploring Lincoln Park, I got back on the El and went back downtown to walk up and down Michigan Avenue. I definitely got my city (and coffee and shopping) fix -- and I'm somewhat proud to report that I didn't get lost once.

After I wore out my welcome (actually, it was Baxter who wore out his welcome!), it was off to Michigan to work at the Tom Powers Futurity. This was a great show for me, business-wise. You would not know that diesel is the price it is if you attended this show -- it was bigger and better than ever. One of my clients was a reserve champion in one of the prestigious 2-year-old futurity classes.

And now I am home, balancing the checkbook, catching up with friends & sleep. And (you knew this was coming, right?) getting read for the next round of travel. Next up is Maine. With two women, two kids and 1600 miles of road, it should be interesting. I promise to be a responsible blogger.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, daddy.
I am thinking of you this morning & I miss having you around here. (And not just because my roof is leaking!)
Love, Lisa

RIP, Sophie

I lost another pet today.

Sophie, the super kitty, was only 4. She was a sweetheart, loved to snuggle, eat, play outside, and chase Kona. She didn't like rain or Baxter. Now she's up at the Rainbow Bridge, playing with Kona again.






I returned to Oklahoma City to find her on my outdoor patio & in bad shape. I brought her inside, out of the heat & humidity, tried to get her to eat or drink something, anything. No go.


It turned out to be Bobcat Fever, which is incurable.

So, sweet dreams, Sophie.

Yes, Officer....

I wish I could say today's trip to OKC was uneventful, but there was one little incident involving the Oklahoma State Highway Patrol.

No, Dad, I wasn't speeding. In fact, I was going 64 in a 75, trying to save a couple bucks on the diesel bill.

Here's the deal. Months ago, the nifty plastic frame "thingy" that displays the truck license fell off. Since the Ford truck is a farm vehicle, there is only one license plate, which goes on the front of the truck (incidentally, in Oklahoma, they only have to display license plates on the back of the vehicles!). Since I rarely drive the truck anymore, I haven't thought about the missing license plate before now.

Today, however, I put a LOT of thought into it! I was driving the turnpike between Tulsa and Oklahoma City -- I even passed a few people who were going much slower than I was! A trooper passed me, and I didn't think anything of it. Then he slowed down after he got in front of me, put on his lights and motioned me to the side of the turnpike. Hey, at least I knew it wasn't for speeding!

We had a nice little chat, I let him know I was deaf, and handed over my license. After letting me squirm for a good ten minutes, he came back with a warning. Now I have to figure out a way to MacGyver something up to put the stupid thing back ON the front of the truck for the trip home. It would be just my luck to get stopped again on the way back.

So there you go -- the story of my very first written warning.

On the Road Again

I'm headed to Oklahoma City Monday morning. This one will be a good show for me. Despite the heart attack-inducing prices of diesel, I should make a decent profit if all goes well. I have a few new clients and a lot of returning business.

I found my new (old) car! Hopefully it will still be on the lot when I get back from this latest trip. Although it would have been nice to have it sooner rather than later, I wanted to "sleep on it" and do some research. I can't wait -- with 35mpg, travel is going to feel so cheap. Not to mention the cost of oil changes, tires, insurance and freedom!

See you on the road somewhere.