On the Road

Our alarm was set for 4:25 this morning with a goal of leaving the house for Gulf Shores, Alabama by 5 a.m. We didn't quite make it but were backing out the garage at 5:15. What a surprise to see a light covering of snow on the ground--less than an inch for sure.

Ray drove carefully and more slowly than usual. At one point he mentioned that the wind seemed to be buffeting the car. Because it was still dark we couldn't see the effects of any wind. Later, we realized that the movement of the car was not from wind but mostly likely from small patches of ice. The road looked wet from melting snow and at some points it seemed that salt had helped melt the snow and/or ice.

Eventually we joined I-65 at Edinburgh and made our first stop at the rest area just north of Columbus. Sometime later, we saw a car on its side on the edge of the road. This was our first indication of the road conditions. Next we encountered a blockage where both lanes were not moving. After a short while traffic began moving slowly. Then we discovered a number of police cars on the side of the road apparently there to warn drivers to proceed slowly and cautiously. A few moments later, we found the reason for the warning -- a motor coach was on its side in the median! Not too much farther we saw a wrecker about to tow another car that had lots of damage to its side. Whether it had been side swiped or landed on its side is hard to know.

We had been on the road for 3 hours and traveled 100 miles (an average of 30 MPH). Sometime after Seymour the roads were dry and soon we were up to speed.

The rest of the day was uneventful. We made stops at rest centers and once for gas and another for supper. The entire trip took 13 hours and 18 minutes of driving time and we covered 746 miles.

We found our rental house without a problem. It seems as if we are the only occupied house on the block, but the house is comfortable with some nice amenities. Now I'm tired and ready for some shut-eye. Maybe some pictures and more details later.

Busy Times!

These December days seems to fly by. Last Sunday the women at Concordia hosted our annual Advent Glow. Since I had agreed to provide some hors d'oeuvres I was busy in the kitchen on Saturday afternoon and also Sunday after church. I left for the event while the Colt game against the Cleveland Browns was still in doubt but shortly after arriving at church learned the Colts prevailed in a last minute score!

Appetizers and hors d'oeuvres

Guests at my table
Carrie, Kylie, me, Nancy & Lynda

In my previous post I wrote about losing the key to our Kubota tractor. Ray contacted a dealer and in a few days we had a new set of keys. His stress levels were reduced when the key arrived and the fee was only minimal. The same day (Nov. 29) when the key fell out of the ignition, Ray also hurt his back. Now, two weeks later, he's almost back to normal. But for a few days he found it difficult to move around the house. He knew exactly when the injury occurred: lifting and hooking up the Trac Vac to the tractor. To avoid this in the future, our neighbor suggested a simple trailer jack which has been ordered. The jack will do the lifting in the future!

Tis the season for baking and I've already made a very fruity cake and another type of fruit cake that made five mini loaves. Probably baking cookies this week! And then we'll be packing for our trip to Alabama for our five-year family reunion in Gulf Shores.