Monday, August 8

Naomi came home last night! The hospital discharged her at 7:00pm, but, unfortunately, without the meds she needs....so we had to go to the drugstore on the way home. The first one we stopped at, which is closest to home, had a little sign on the door, saying they were closed, but the store on Milwaukee and Belmont (not too terribly far) was open 24 hours. So, off we went. Now, it was around 9:00, and Naomi was getting uncomfortable, since her pain meds were due at 8:00. We took her into the store with us, in her body cast (I told her to look pitiful if she could)....the pharmacist took one look, said, "I'll do this one right away." BUT, he didn't have the valium that she needed......now, it was 9:20.....he came back and told us that the only store at that hour that did have the drug was on Irving Park and Cicero (not all that close)......while we were driving there, we got into a downpour that only the Midwest gets (a real frog-choker). Got to the store around 9:30 (I drove fast).....no one at the drive up window! I had to go inside to get someone's attention...but, FINALLY, we got her the medicine she needed. Home again a little after 10. By that time she was really in pain, but that stuff works FAST!

She got a great night's sleep and looks like our Naomi again.....with the addition of her bright blue cast. Looking great. Mimi!


Miles is pretty happy to have her home...... and so is Mom!

Brown out.....

My first brown out since we left the Midwest in 1973. Lost power for an hour last night, due to overuse - too many people, too many air conditioners, too little power. It rained briefly early this morning, so we now have temperatures of around 80-ish and humidity of around 99-ish. :) I did discover that you can actually turn left at a major intersection on a green light (instead of the red) if you are out before 10am on a Saturday. (That's good to know in a city with very few left turn arrows.)

Lollapalooza = traffic

We got caught up in the Lollapalooza traffic yesterday afternoon, which added 2 hours to the trip. While we got to Illinois around 2, it was 5;45 before we pulled up in front of Becky's. About 100,000 people arrived in Chicago yesterday evening - and I think we found most of them on I90/94.

While we were in Minnesota yesterday morning, we followed a city-owned car (I think we were in St. Cloud, MN) that had this bumper sticker: "My goal is safety." Huh? First of all, "safety" can't be a goal....by definition, a goal has to have an ending - you have to know that you got to your goal. Second, I'm not at all comfortable riding on a highway with this person.....how do I know where he is on that continuum? Maybe he's just starting out and hasn't made any progress at all toward his goal. One hopes that he's well on his way, but who knows? Very disconcerting.

No good signs or anything to take a picture of in Minnesota, Wisconsin or Illinois. Well, there's corn, of course, but that's just not all that photogenic.

As soon as we hit Wisconsin I missed driving in North Dakota and Montana. In those states trucks (and everyone else, for that matter) know how to drive. One stays on the right EXCEPT TO PASS. I'm not sure what part of that concept misses the folks in Wisconsin and Illinois, but they clearly do not get it. I was going along just fine, passing the trucks, then getting back over in the right lane until I came up on the next truck, then repeating. But in these two midwestern states, I kept getting stuck in the right lane behind the trucks, because some yoyo would pass the truck, BARELY, then sit there in the left lane, so no one else could get over to pass, thus creating long lines of cars in the left lane, and a single truck in the right lane. The truckers in Illinois and Wisconsin also drive the same speed as the cars (often faster) and they don't even make the pretense of staying in the right lane....so, then you've got a long hill, and two trucks, side by side, holding up both lanes of traffic. Staying on cruise control is hard out here in the corn belt!

We are home at Becky's now, with Miles. (He'll be with us through Monday.) He's running around, giggling for all he's worth.....he's pretty happy that his Papa is here! The training wheels are coming off the bike tomorrow. Whoopee!!!

Oh, yes, Naomi chose blue for her cast this time. Shocking pink last December and blue this time. I'll post a picture tomorrow.

Friday

I'll post again later. Right now, we're heading out to Rush University Hospital - Naomi goes under the knife about 8:00am, finishing up around 5:00 pm. A long day for a little girl.

Oh, no, Mr. Bill!!!

My pictures didn't post....so here they are:

This is the "Be An American" picture"


Here are the great North Dakota pictures:


>

Wednesday - 1500 miles from home

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me the endless skyway.
I saw below me the golden valley.
This land belongs to you and me.
- Woody Guthrie*

* this is a guess - it just sounds like something he wrote.

Another long day....central and eastern Montana are really something. We've never driven this particular highway before, and we really enjoyed it. It's a two-lane road, 70 mph, but there are no other cars on the road. Miles and miles of nothing, as far as you can see. Western North Dakota is so different from South Dakota - except for the black hills - those are pretty similar. You have to love that 75mph through these two states!

They take these things seriously in North Dakota! Be an AMERICAN!!

North Dakota has great signs:


For God's sake, PLEASE be polite and kind! (especially to me)

My brain is fried....yesterday’s post didn’t publish until today, so you’ll need to scroll down to read yesterday’s. Sorry about that.

On to Chicago! We should arrive at Becky's office around 3:30 tomorrow afternoon. Naomi's surgery is on Friday, so we won't see her until afterwards. She's doing pretty well, for a scared 4-year-old. She's doing better than I would be, facing a body cast for the next 2 months.....Phew.

Lewiston, MT - 740 miles from home

A loooonnnnnnngggg day. Left Seattle at 0500 and watched the sun rise over Cle Elum. We've certainly driven this route a lot - Trina and Ross both went to Central, and there were a lot of trips back and forth. I don't remember any of these wind farms back in the early 90's, though - obviously, Ellensburg is getting green!



One of my favorite places in Washington state is Vantage. (My kids are all laughing right now - because they know, as I do, that there is NOTHING in Vantage. Nothing.) Every time we'd get one of these non-summers (much like this year) I'd forget how much I disliked the heat of the Midwest and start to whine about wanting some sun. I always wanted to come to Vantage. For you non-Washingtonians, Vantage is about in the middle of the state. As you pass through the state, once you've crossed the mountain passes, you've entered arid country (especially on I-90). This is horse country....and the Yakima Nation. It's mile after mile of dry, dusty hills, covered with sagebrush and dirt. Rattlesnakes, rabbits and hawks. (Besides the cowboys) It's hot and dry. Picture in your mind an old western movie. The camera pans over the hills and there are about a hundred Indians in war paint, atop a hill, watching the luckless wagon train down in the valley below - that's east-central Washington. After about an hour of this scenery, though, you begin to drop down a long, long hill. You turn a corner, and BAM - there's Vantage. It's nothing more than a wide spot in the highway with a bridge over the Columbia River. That's it. Once you've crossed the river, you're right back in the heat and dry hills. I love Vantage.

I was really interested to see the name "Hiawatha" about 4 or 5 times through Washington and Idaho. Ummm, Hiawatha was an Iroquois chief - I'm wondering how he got to the Northwest.....Oh, well, perhaps readers of Wordsworth or Longfellow (I can never remember which one wrote "Hiawatha") moved across on one of those wagon trains.

After 2 1/2 hours in eastern Washington, entering the lush Idaho forests was really refreshing. Northern Idaho and western Montana are really beautiful - the Bitteroot Range is just so pretty....on the down side, however, we got stuck in an hour's worth of single-lane traffic, with 35-45 mph speed limits. Yuk.



We took a new route today....going up north from Missoula to Great Falls. This route takes you through a bunch of tiny little towns - Bonner, MT, has hit hard times...half the houses are boarded up. BUT - hang on, Bonner! The Testicle Festival is coming! (I am NOT making this up. I'd have taken a picture of the poster but I didn't get the camera out fast enough.) Surely that'll bring in the tourist trade!

After 12 hours of driving, we finally arrived here in Lewiston, MT. We've never been here before. It's easy to miss - matter of fact, we DID miss it. Drove right by and had to turn back and come to the motel. Right across the street is the premier dining establishment in town: Doc's OK Korral. :)

No, I didn't play Bingo.