What is Parke County you ask? Hmmm? You didn't ask? Well I'll tell you anyway. Parke County boasts the most covered bridges in the country. There are 31 covered bridges along with Amish Communities. It is for that reason that I decided a while back that I would like to see it.
This morning we are in Peoria, Illinois and will be in Parke County in just a few hours. Since we left Sioux Falls on Friday, we have had nothing but cloudy, rain, overcast, rain, heavy dark clouds, rain and well, you get the picture.
Friday night we spent in Des Moines, Iowa and I haven't felt a bone chilling icy cold wind like that in a long time. The wind was about 20 mph and went clear through to your bones. Just unloading the car was a challenge.
Yesterday we drove from Des Moines, Iowa to Peoria Illinois. It was a short trip, only about 4 hours but Wayne is feeling so bad that he was ready for a rest. He is being such a trooper. While we were still in Sioux Falls, I said we should probably just turn around, head west, and get him home. Knowing how I had been looking forward to seeing Parke County, he said he wanted to try it so on we came.
After we see Parke County today and tomorrow, we will head back west and go back through Yellowstone and on the way, stop to see Mt. Rushmore. We never have made it there yet and Wayne hasn't seen it.
There haven't been any pictures or videos for a while because we haven't seen the sun for a while and haven't taken any pics. Today will be different, we will get lots of pictures. The weatherman on tv has assured me that today (Sunday) will be bright and sun shiny for our day in Parke County.
We will get packed up here and head out soon.
Thanks for following us and our love to all.
Wayne and Colleen
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Goodbye Sioux Falls
This morning we bid adieu to Sioux Falls. Our week there did not work out as hoped, but we did get to see Nicole three times. All three visits were supervised by her new Service Coordinator Jessica Bauers. Yesterday, our third visit, was the first time we were "allowed" to take Nicole out for lunch. Of course the weather had been perfect all week until yesterday and it was cold and rainy.
Nicole's mother continues (11 years now) to be ....how can I say this nicely...a problem. But we are continuing our fight and will prevail in the end.
Wayne is sick. He caught some sort of bug and is all stuffed up and has a sore throat. I drove today so he could rest. He insisted on going on with our trip. I said this morning that I thought we should head home, but he knows how I was looking forward to seeing Parke County Indiana, (covered bridges and amish communities) so he said he wanted to go on.
I did agree that after Parke County, we would take a U turn and head back west. We are going back through Yellowstone again and before that, will finally see Mt. Rushmore. I used to live there so I've seen it but Wayne has never seen it.
We drove to Des Moines Iowa today. It poured rain and blew an icy frigid wind all day. We stopped in almost the first place we spotted, a Holiday Express and Wayne has been asleep for a while now. I hope he wakes up feeling better.
Onward and Upward.......we are trying.
Nicole's mother continues (11 years now) to be ....how can I say this nicely...a problem. But we are continuing our fight and will prevail in the end.
Wayne is sick. He caught some sort of bug and is all stuffed up and has a sore throat. I drove today so he could rest. He insisted on going on with our trip. I said this morning that I thought we should head home, but he knows how I was looking forward to seeing Parke County Indiana, (covered bridges and amish communities) so he said he wanted to go on.
I did agree that after Parke County, we would take a U turn and head back west. We are going back through Yellowstone again and before that, will finally see Mt. Rushmore. I used to live there so I've seen it but Wayne has never seen it.
We drove to Des Moines Iowa today. It poured rain and blew an icy frigid wind all day. We stopped in almost the first place we spotted, a Holiday Express and Wayne has been asleep for a while now. I hope he wakes up feeling better.
Onward and Upward.......we are trying.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Falls Park, Sioux Falls
Hello from Sioux Falls. Today we went downtown to Falls Park. It's a nice little park with a piece of the Big Sioux River and Falls running through it.
It was a really nice day, although a bit windy. The last few seconds of the video taken from the car and during the right turn, is Achieve where we are going tomorrow in hopes of seeing Nicole.
Today we unloaded more stuff from the car and I unpacked the suitcases, hung up clothes and generally put things away and organized our stuff here in the room since we will be here for a week.
The people here are so nice, it's incredible how helpful they are. They brought us a microwave and refrigerator today from another room. They would have brought it yesterday except that it came from a room that was occupied.
They are short of things this week since there are a lot of construction workers staying here and they are here for 3 months. The people are just very friendly and we feel real at home here.
This morning we went to our favorite place OPH, Original Pancake House. More "Swedes" for me. The Swedish pancakes there are delicious.
We then went for a ride down to the Falls Park and took some video I am sending along tonight. It's a pretty town here, lots of history.
http://vimeo.com/6787419
Not a lot to say for the next few days and this brings you up to date. We will be here until Friday then we are considering going southeast to something we saw on tv last night. It's the Blue Ridge Parkway. Really sounds great.
We have lots of time to make that decision.....
More later
Love to All
Wayne and Colleen
It was a really nice day, although a bit windy. The last few seconds of the video taken from the car and during the right turn, is Achieve where we are going tomorrow in hopes of seeing Nicole.
Today we unloaded more stuff from the car and I unpacked the suitcases, hung up clothes and generally put things away and organized our stuff here in the room since we will be here for a week.
The people here are so nice, it's incredible how helpful they are. They brought us a microwave and refrigerator today from another room. They would have brought it yesterday except that it came from a room that was occupied.
They are short of things this week since there are a lot of construction workers staying here and they are here for 3 months. The people are just very friendly and we feel real at home here.
This morning we went to our favorite place OPH, Original Pancake House. More "Swedes" for me. The Swedish pancakes there are delicious.
We then went for a ride down to the Falls Park and took some video I am sending along tonight. It's a pretty town here, lots of history.
http://vimeo.com/6787419
Not a lot to say for the next few days and this brings you up to date. We will be here until Friday then we are considering going southeast to something we saw on tv last night. It's the Blue Ridge Parkway. Really sounds great.
We have lots of time to make that decision.....
More later
Love to All
Wayne and Colleen
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
http://vimeo.com/6772829
Well folks, we have arrived in our home for a week now, Sioux Falls South Dakota. As most of you know the situation here, we are hoping against hope to get to see Nicole. We don't know until we go out to Achieve on Monday if we will be able to see her.
I found a video uploading service called Vimeo and I'm experimenting with getting a video clip here on the blog. If it works, I will post a few more each day.
The first one I'm putting on here is from a few days ago at Yellowstone. I hope it works!
We went to Lake City Minnesota after leaving Minneapolis. Lake City is where Pat Riskas used to live. For those of you that don't know, Pat is my sister in law Gail's mom. That would also make her Wayne's brother Jim's mother-in-law. See how that works?
Our trip to Lake City was in the first rain we've had yet on our trip. Other than a couple real cloudbursts, it really wasn't that bad. It stayed warm and muggy all day.
Lake City is a pretty little town along the Mississippi River. Lots of nice things to see and pretty landscape both before and after Lake City.
This was on Friday, yesterday, and we just decided to come on into Sioux Falls since it was only 4 hours away. Yes, we are here early but Wayne feels much better about being here early.
We went to our favorite place in Sioux Falls to eat today. It's The Original Pancake House. They have a real variety of special pancakes and crepes. My personal favorite is the Swedish Pancakes with Lingonberry. MMMMMM!
We did some laundry last night for the first time since we left home. Our hotel, the Fairfield does not yet have their laundry room in so we had to go across the parking lot to the Marriott Residence Inn where we were able to use their laundry room. They have a very nice section of their lobby that is like a living room with a nice couch and some chairs along with a very large screen Hi-Def TV.
Tomorrow I am going to re-organize all of our things. We are going to be here for a while so we can unpack a bit. We have been buying lots of souvenirs and I want to go through everything and consolidate them a bit. Somewhere in there are a few things we bought for Nicole!
I know you are probably getting tired of hearing this, but this road trip is just amazing. Wayne and I love being together and seeing all these beautiful things we have seen. We love meeting all the new people and seeing the new places.
It is a very strong feeling in my heart of gratefulness to God for making this trip possible for us. I am happy to be as healthy as I am and although I have gained so very much weight, I am still here. I am still here and enjoying life more everyday.
Wayne and I are blessed for sure. This is the trip of a lifetime and we are happy to share it all with you.
Love to everyone
Wayne and Colleen
Well folks, we have arrived in our home for a week now, Sioux Falls South Dakota. As most of you know the situation here, we are hoping against hope to get to see Nicole. We don't know until we go out to Achieve on Monday if we will be able to see her.
I found a video uploading service called Vimeo and I'm experimenting with getting a video clip here on the blog. If it works, I will post a few more each day.
The first one I'm putting on here is from a few days ago at Yellowstone. I hope it works!
We went to Lake City Minnesota after leaving Minneapolis. Lake City is where Pat Riskas used to live. For those of you that don't know, Pat is my sister in law Gail's mom. That would also make her Wayne's brother Jim's mother-in-law. See how that works?
Our trip to Lake City was in the first rain we've had yet on our trip. Other than a couple real cloudbursts, it really wasn't that bad. It stayed warm and muggy all day.
Lake City is a pretty little town along the Mississippi River. Lots of nice things to see and pretty landscape both before and after Lake City.
This was on Friday, yesterday, and we just decided to come on into Sioux Falls since it was only 4 hours away. Yes, we are here early but Wayne feels much better about being here early.
We went to our favorite place in Sioux Falls to eat today. It's The Original Pancake House. They have a real variety of special pancakes and crepes. My personal favorite is the Swedish Pancakes with Lingonberry. MMMMMM!
We did some laundry last night for the first time since we left home. Our hotel, the Fairfield does not yet have their laundry room in so we had to go across the parking lot to the Marriott Residence Inn where we were able to use their laundry room. They have a very nice section of their lobby that is like a living room with a nice couch and some chairs along with a very large screen Hi-Def TV.
Tomorrow I am going to re-organize all of our things. We are going to be here for a while so we can unpack a bit. We have been buying lots of souvenirs and I want to go through everything and consolidate them a bit. Somewhere in there are a few things we bought for Nicole!
I know you are probably getting tired of hearing this, but this road trip is just amazing. Wayne and I love being together and seeing all these beautiful things we have seen. We love meeting all the new people and seeing the new places.
It is a very strong feeling in my heart of gratefulness to God for making this trip possible for us. I am happy to be as healthy as I am and although I have gained so very much weight, I am still here. I am still here and enjoying life more everyday.
Wayne and I are blessed for sure. This is the trip of a lifetime and we are happy to share it all with you.
Love to everyone
Wayne and Colleen
Thursday, September 24, 2009
MOA - Mall of America
What an experience we had today. No, it didn't involve police officers!
We went over to the MOA which is across the street sort of from our hotel. This place is a nightmare! First of all you have to decide which entrance you want, North, South, East or West. Then you have to find a parking place (good luck) or go into the appropriate parking garage.
When you finally get inside, you have to decide which level you want to shop, there are 4 levels. With over 400 businesses, it's an incredible place. We got something to eat first and then located a couple shoe stores and I actually bought two pair of shoes.
We were really afraid if we ventured very deeply into the labyrinth of the place we may never see our car again and God forbid maybe even each other!!!
We took the shoes and headed for where we thought we left the car. Yep, it was there!
We drove back over to the hotel and was happy to get here!
Have I mentioned how much I love this bed! It is amazingly comfortable.
Last night we did a horribly decadent thing and ordered room service. Terrific food but terribly expensive! Then after our experience at the mall, we came back here and ordered panini and ordered a movie, Angels and Demons with Tom Hanks.
So here we are, stretched out on this wonderful bed, eating lunch off of fine china and watching a current movie on TV. Does it get any better?
Tomorrow we start out again, having enjoyed a good rest and wonderful time in this great room. The folks at the Marriott are very attentive and very nice. They make you feel really at home.
Tomorrow's Dilemma...... which new pair of shoes do I wear?
More later......
love to all
W & C
We went over to the MOA which is across the street sort of from our hotel. This place is a nightmare! First of all you have to decide which entrance you want, North, South, East or West. Then you have to find a parking place (good luck) or go into the appropriate parking garage.
When you finally get inside, you have to decide which level you want to shop, there are 4 levels. With over 400 businesses, it's an incredible place. We got something to eat first and then located a couple shoe stores and I actually bought two pair of shoes.
We were really afraid if we ventured very deeply into the labyrinth of the place we may never see our car again and God forbid maybe even each other!!!
We took the shoes and headed for where we thought we left the car. Yep, it was there!
We drove back over to the hotel and was happy to get here!
Have I mentioned how much I love this bed! It is amazingly comfortable.
Last night we did a horribly decadent thing and ordered room service. Terrific food but terribly expensive! Then after our experience at the mall, we came back here and ordered panini and ordered a movie, Angels and Demons with Tom Hanks.
So here we are, stretched out on this wonderful bed, eating lunch off of fine china and watching a current movie on TV. Does it get any better?
Tomorrow we start out again, having enjoyed a good rest and wonderful time in this great room. The folks at the Marriott are very attentive and very nice. They make you feel really at home.
Tomorrow's Dilemma...... which new pair of shoes do I wear?
More later......
love to all
W & C
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Biggest Shopping Center in the World
Hi everyone. Tonight we are in Minneapolis, actually Bloomington, Minnesota. And all you girls know what is in Bloomington. The Mall of America is here.
We got here about 4:00 this afternoon, found the Marriott and stopped in the parking lot. Our GPS lady gave us not only the directions to the Marriott but also the address and phone number. So I called to see if they had any rooms available under the Friends and Family rate that Richard was so kind to give us certificates for before we left home.
Yes, they have a room so I reserved the room for two nights from the parking lot !!!
We pulled up front, a very nice man all dressed in red came out to unload our car. We went inside and registered and to the top floor we came.
Now this is the nicest hotel we have stayed at yet, I love Marriott. And the biggest reason that I like Marriott is that it has THE bed!! The bed is the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in in my entire life. It's wonderful!
We are almost across the street from the MOA (Mall of America) and plan to go there tomorrow and check it out. I have been wanting a new pair of shoes so I think that will be on the agenda tomorrow.
Looking at the website tonight, I find the MOA has over 400 stores employing over 12,000 people. Amazing. It's on 4 levels and has movie theatres and lots of other entertainment venues.
Note to Pat: We think we will be going through Lake City on Friday when we leave here. We will stay somewhere between here and Sioux Falls Friday night and then be in Sioux Falls on Saturday.
Note To Lil: Thanks so much sweetie for your comments and compliments. We really appreciate your following us.
Note to Todd: No more dummy moves today! Have been very thoughtful about the use of my Flip!
Today when we drove around Fargo a bit before leaving town, we encountered a peaceful protest in front of a Women's Clinic in old town Fargo. There was a shoulder to shoulder line of approximately 12-14 young people holding signs that said "Pray for the End of Abortion"........The clinic was in the middle of the block and on each corner were 2-3 young people wearing vests that said "Clinic Escorts". They were there to escort patients past the protesters.
After thinking about it, I asked Wayne to drive back around so I could video the protest. He drove up to the clinic, stopped, and stared at the protesters. I held my breath thinking for sure that they would say something and he would respond, we would BOTH respond and then one or all of the cops who were stationed a safe distance away would be all over us. I could see them pounding on our car with their signs and everything. Well, actually we just had a staring contest, no one spoke, and off we drove.
Todd, I almost needed you again!!! But once again, we got through it without the feel of the cold steel handcuffs on our wrists!
Note to Mom: Really good to hear your good news today. Glad your shoulder is healed and all is good. You needed some good news!
Again today we had a great ride and some beautiful green landscape. Really great farms, little settlements, and green green hills. The weather was clear as a bell and nice and warm today.
Note to Todd: Added to previous comment, today we came upon a traffic stop on the freeway just before getting into Minneapolis. As we approached, we noticed there were no markings on his car at all. It was a dark colored four door sedan looking as normal as any other car on the road. There were no visible lights or any other marking or object that would make him look like a police car. However, there were lights coming from several places, still not sure how though. He was dressed all in brown with those silly looking round brimmed hats. I grabbed the Flip and tried to get as much as I could as Wayne gasped "I wish you wouldn't do that" ! So, contrary to what I said earlier, maybe this was a dummy move on my part!
Bye for now .....I promise I will try to stay out of trouble now!!!
Love to all
Wayne and Colleen
We got here about 4:00 this afternoon, found the Marriott and stopped in the parking lot. Our GPS lady gave us not only the directions to the Marriott but also the address and phone number. So I called to see if they had any rooms available under the Friends and Family rate that Richard was so kind to give us certificates for before we left home.
Yes, they have a room so I reserved the room for two nights from the parking lot !!!
We pulled up front, a very nice man all dressed in red came out to unload our car. We went inside and registered and to the top floor we came.
Now this is the nicest hotel we have stayed at yet, I love Marriott. And the biggest reason that I like Marriott is that it has THE bed!! The bed is the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in in my entire life. It's wonderful!
We are almost across the street from the MOA (Mall of America) and plan to go there tomorrow and check it out. I have been wanting a new pair of shoes so I think that will be on the agenda tomorrow.
Looking at the website tonight, I find the MOA has over 400 stores employing over 12,000 people. Amazing. It's on 4 levels and has movie theatres and lots of other entertainment venues.
Note to Pat: We think we will be going through Lake City on Friday when we leave here. We will stay somewhere between here and Sioux Falls Friday night and then be in Sioux Falls on Saturday.
Note To Lil: Thanks so much sweetie for your comments and compliments. We really appreciate your following us.
Note to Todd: No more dummy moves today! Have been very thoughtful about the use of my Flip!
Today when we drove around Fargo a bit before leaving town, we encountered a peaceful protest in front of a Women's Clinic in old town Fargo. There was a shoulder to shoulder line of approximately 12-14 young people holding signs that said "Pray for the End of Abortion"........The clinic was in the middle of the block and on each corner were 2-3 young people wearing vests that said "Clinic Escorts". They were there to escort patients past the protesters.
After thinking about it, I asked Wayne to drive back around so I could video the protest. He drove up to the clinic, stopped, and stared at the protesters. I held my breath thinking for sure that they would say something and he would respond, we would BOTH respond and then one or all of the cops who were stationed a safe distance away would be all over us. I could see them pounding on our car with their signs and everything. Well, actually we just had a staring contest, no one spoke, and off we drove.
Todd, I almost needed you again!!! But once again, we got through it without the feel of the cold steel handcuffs on our wrists!
Note to Mom: Really good to hear your good news today. Glad your shoulder is healed and all is good. You needed some good news!
Again today we had a great ride and some beautiful green landscape. Really great farms, little settlements, and green green hills. The weather was clear as a bell and nice and warm today.
Note to Todd: Added to previous comment, today we came upon a traffic stop on the freeway just before getting into Minneapolis. As we approached, we noticed there were no markings on his car at all. It was a dark colored four door sedan looking as normal as any other car on the road. There were no visible lights or any other marking or object that would make him look like a police car. However, there were lights coming from several places, still not sure how though. He was dressed all in brown with those silly looking round brimmed hats. I grabbed the Flip and tried to get as much as I could as Wayne gasped "I wish you wouldn't do that" ! So, contrary to what I said earlier, maybe this was a dummy move on my part!
Bye for now .....I promise I will try to stay out of trouble now!!!
Love to all
Wayne and Colleen
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
In Fargo, North Dakota......eh yeah
Hi there everyone from Fargo North Dakota. No blog last night because we took another down day yesterday in Minot. Today's drive was only about 4 hours to Fargo but we stopped because it looked real stormy and we decided to get a room and just look around Fargo for a while.
We haven't taken any pictures today and since we didn't go out of our room yesterday, none then either.
Fargo is right exactly on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota. We plan to go into Minnesota tomorrow.
Note to Pat: We may be going to Lake City tomorrow. Wayne looked it up and it's about 5 hours from here. We'll get some pictures for you to see tomorrow night if we get there.
We are way ahead of schedule for Sioux Falls, we aren't due there until Saturday.
Wayne is feeling the magnet pull of seeing Nicole and he wants to keep within a few hours of Sioux Falls.
On our way here today, we stopped in a cute little town called Harvey. We drove around Harvey for a while and it was really cute. There was a police officer driving a pick up with the license plate "police" so Wayne asked her where to find a good place to eat. She gave us a couple choices and away we went.
It was strange seeing such a little town even having a police department but we know they have at least one officer and she was very friendly.
These small little towns in eastern North Dakota are priceless. Things look like they haven't changed for dozens of years.
There were miles and miles and miles of sunflower fields along the highway today. I think they were left to go to seed because they looked almost dead but there were miles of them on both sides of the road.
Note to Richard and Lisa: We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Minot for two nights at $49 each night......THANKS again !!!
Dinner at Applebee's tonight introduced us to the cutest little waitress named RUNEA.....pronounced Re nay or Rene. I gave her one of my cards and told her she could have 50% off if she found something she liked on my website. She was real interested in our trip, where we were going, etc. Very nice young lady.
We have been travelling on smaller state highways instead of the impersonal interstate freeways. It is just so much nicer on the smaller roads. You see so much more and meet such nice people. It is the preferred way to travel in the Stevenson Family!
Note to Self: No more riblets at Applebee's, delicious but too hard and messy to eat.
Note to Cameron and Sergio: We both signed up as followers on your blog and marked it on our favorites. We are looking forward to your posts!! We are excited about your trip to NY and DC and hope you have a great great time!!
We are in the central time zone now so we are two hours ahead of home.
I cannot tell you how much fun we are having. We are happy to be together each day and seeing new things and meeting new people. It's an amazing way to take a vacation and I totally recommend it for everyone. I wish you could all be here with us. You get such a great view of life in this way. It's so powerful when you see new things and see how others live.
Update on our License plate game: We only need 12 more to have all 50 states. We still need Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and West Virginia. All the rest we've seen.
That's about it for today. Tomorrow we will be in Minnesota and will post again tomorrow night.
Love to you all
Wayne and Colleen
We haven't taken any pictures today and since we didn't go out of our room yesterday, none then either.
Fargo is right exactly on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota. We plan to go into Minnesota tomorrow.
Note to Pat: We may be going to Lake City tomorrow. Wayne looked it up and it's about 5 hours from here. We'll get some pictures for you to see tomorrow night if we get there.
We are way ahead of schedule for Sioux Falls, we aren't due there until Saturday.
Wayne is feeling the magnet pull of seeing Nicole and he wants to keep within a few hours of Sioux Falls.
On our way here today, we stopped in a cute little town called Harvey. We drove around Harvey for a while and it was really cute. There was a police officer driving a pick up with the license plate "police" so Wayne asked her where to find a good place to eat. She gave us a couple choices and away we went.
It was strange seeing such a little town even having a police department but we know they have at least one officer and she was very friendly.
These small little towns in eastern North Dakota are priceless. Things look like they haven't changed for dozens of years.
There were miles and miles and miles of sunflower fields along the highway today. I think they were left to go to seed because they looked almost dead but there were miles of them on both sides of the road.
Note to Richard and Lisa: We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Minot for two nights at $49 each night......THANKS again !!!
Dinner at Applebee's tonight introduced us to the cutest little waitress named RUNEA.....pronounced Re nay or Rene. I gave her one of my cards and told her she could have 50% off if she found something she liked on my website. She was real interested in our trip, where we were going, etc. Very nice young lady.
We have been travelling on smaller state highways instead of the impersonal interstate freeways. It is just so much nicer on the smaller roads. You see so much more and meet such nice people. It is the preferred way to travel in the Stevenson Family!
Note to Self: No more riblets at Applebee's, delicious but too hard and messy to eat.
Note to Cameron and Sergio: We both signed up as followers on your blog and marked it on our favorites. We are looking forward to your posts!! We are excited about your trip to NY and DC and hope you have a great great time!!
We are in the central time zone now so we are two hours ahead of home.
I cannot tell you how much fun we are having. We are happy to be together each day and seeing new things and meeting new people. It's an amazing way to take a vacation and I totally recommend it for everyone. I wish you could all be here with us. You get such a great view of life in this way. It's so powerful when you see new things and see how others live.
Update on our License plate game: We only need 12 more to have all 50 states. We still need Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and West Virginia. All the rest we've seen.
That's about it for today. Tomorrow we will be in Minnesota and will post again tomorrow night.
Love to you all
Wayne and Colleen
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