Fort Wayne, Indiana - March 31, 2016

Almost home!  I'm getting really sick of being in the car.  Also and I know this will shock everyone, I am tired of restaurant food.  Feel bloated and sluggish from too much salt and sugar.  Looking forward to cooking in my own kitchen.

We have been very lucky dodging the bad weather that has been swirling around.  It rained most of last night in Illinois and it poured here in Fort Wayne while we were eating supper.  Not sure what it is doing out now.  We are relaxing in our suite.  Room is huge with an L shaped couch, ottoman and lots of space.  Very comfy.

Saw the first daffodils today at a rest stop in Illinois.

No daffodils in Texas

Tonight's memory

Boat tour of Brownsville Harbour including the shrimp basin.

Marion, Illinois - March 30, 2016

Safe and sound in Marion, Illinois - not Marion, Arkansas which we passed by earlier in the day.  Too many Marions.  Reminds me of an old song about Marian the librarian.

We left very early this morning.  Five thirty am.  The weather network was calling for 3 inches of rain, flooding, winds and possible tornadoes for south eastern Arkansas beginning at 8 am.  So we set the alarm hoping to out run the front.  Well we are safely in Illinois and the rain has not materialized.  However it will probably arrive this evening and linger throughout tomorrow.  The winds have picked up. So I guess that we will be travelling with rain tomorrow.

Tonight we are at a Comfort Suites hotel.  It has an indoor pool and fitness room.  I may take advantage of these later.  We had a lovely lunch at Panera Bread.  Won't need much supper.

Wayne continues to rest as much as possible.  We will be glad to arrive back home.

Today we crossed the Mississippi River.  Once across, I always feel that the trip is half over.

The land on both sides was very wet.  I think there has been flooding recently.

To close - another memory of this past season:

Kathy at South Padre Island

Arkadelphia - Mar 29, 2016

Safe and sound in Arkansas.  Tonight we are in another Best Western.  Last night's was big and modern.  Tonight - not so much.  Older hotel (one of those 2 story deals where you can park right outside your door) but it is clean and well maintained.

So far the weather has been great, but a storm is supposed to come in from the west tomorrow.  We are hoping to leave earlier to escape it.

Sunrise this morning

Thought I would post a few family shots from this winter.  We spent a Sunday afternoon at a local bar.  Winter texans, bikers and locals all enjoy Cabrera's Junkyard Bar.  Lots of fun with live music and friendly people.

Heading North - 28 Mar 16

We are on our way home.  Eight hours travelling today brought us to Bryan, Texas.  Bryan- College Station is the home of Texas A & M University.  Agriculture and mechanical stuff.  I thought it would look something like University of Guelph.  But I don't think so.

The drive was good.  I continue to fine tune our route to avoid large cities and traffic.  I enjoy passing through small towns.  They quite often have interesting architecture and storefronts.  Saw lots of bbq joints today.

Wayne is resting and watching some old movie.

For supper, we can just walk across the parking lot to a couple of restaurants.  One is an IHOP - not sure what the other is.

Later, I'm going to wander down to the fitness room.  Last evening I was able to top up my 10,000 steps at the hotel in Mission.  Doubt I will achieve that today, but I want to at least walk for 30 minutes.

No photos of the trip today.  There were some spring flowers but no opportunity to get a shot.

So I will close with Sunset on the Rio Grande.