Just When You Think You've Seen It All!

So Since returning from China a bout 2-1/2 years ago my job has held me captive in the Cincinnati area, well there was that one trip to Europe, and now my second trip to Iowa (which is what this post is about).

There were 4 of us taking the trip and we thought we'd save expenses by driving out instead of flying, thereby cutting the cost down to about 1/4 for the trip alone. What the company forgot was that according to the "Guide Book of Being Guys" (I may get censored by the greater community of "Guys" now) and I quote: "Whenever 2 or more guys go out of town for any length of time in a wheeled vehicle it is officially known as a ROAD TRIP"! Now just so I can still keep my membership card not a whole lot more details will be shared, but rest assured that even though we did work hard and accomplished allot we did manage to have fun!

Now to actually get to the real point of this now rambling post, I have been fortunate enough to have traveled most of this country during my lifetime, from coast-to-coast and border-to-border all along the interstates, and I'm still a firm believer that you miss allot if you don't do this! I've seen some of the most famous landmarks like: The Grand Canyon, Buffalo Bill's Home, Pillsbury Crossing (I threw that in there for Lightnin and Merlyn, one truly unforgettable Road Trip!), etc., all well worth viewing, but the real fun is in the obscure, and sometimes bizarre sightings, these are the real gems that you miss when you fly over.

Yes I can boast that I've seen: The World's Largest Prairie Dog, The World's Largest Ball of Twine, (Notice a pattern here?), The World's Smallest Tea Set, etc. (Oh I could go on and on), but on this trip I finally got to see (are you ready?) The World's Largest Truck Stop! And here's the picture to prove it:

Ain't she a beauty?














This beauty is right on I-80 in Southeastern IOWA, and I can now claim that I've seen it! We didn't go in it mind you, we just stopped, took a picture, got back into the car, and made tracks to get home, but by golly we saw it!

What Happened to Summer?

******Weather Rant Warning!******

So this morning we wake up with 52F temperatures and a slight mistiness in the air, and its said that we'll make it up to a whopping 64F for the high! This wouldn't be too bad except that for the past few months we've had from mid to upper 80's (perfect in my book) to mid to upper 90's (a little warm, but I like it). So to all of a sudden sink to the mid 60's for the high, along with the dampness in the air, is a bit of a shock. For crying out loud it's mid September and I had to grab a jacket on the way out this morning!

If you've followed this blog for any time at all then you'll know that for starters I'm a fan of warm weather, and come pretty close to hating winter, but my biggest pet peeve is the inconsistent weather around here during the spring and fall. I'll spare you the full description of these sometimes violent swings in temps and precipitation conditions because I've detailed those in previous posts, but it's safe to say that this time of the year I am usually not a happy camper!

This state of unhappiness is brought on by several things: The obvious I've mentioned in rantings above and in previous posts, the not so obvious is the fact that this season reminds me that winter is fast approaching. This is also coupled with the usual loss of sunlight and the reduction of vitamin D production which actually does trigger a depression reaction.

This year I'm prepared and a long term solution to this issue is in the works!

More to come.......

Before and After

Here's a few more before and after photos:

In the beginning













Cleared and ready to start












Got foundation?















The dream has become reality!