Of course Karen Peck and New River were excellent tonight. As I was leaving I saw something that I don't think I'd ever seen before. It was a vehicle with Prince Edward Island plates on it. I had to consult my map to see where that is!

I usually arrive early enough to watch the busses arrive and be unloaded. They almost all wear jeans except Legacy Five who arrived in khakis.

Last night I'll admit it was a little hard as I was watching the Hoppers unload. I had to think about how much Bob always enjoyed helping with loading and unloading. He would really enjoy being here, but I'm sure he is enjoying heaven more than being here.

Have a good day!

I went to a great concert tonight with the Hoppers. Tomorrow night will be Karen Peck and New River. Both groups are top-notch. As I was waiting to get in, I saw a man and his wife crossing the parking lot and he looked bunches like JD Sumner! I then found out that he is Roy Pauley who writes for Singing News and has sang with various groups. The Hoppers closed with Shoutin Time and he sang with them. He definitely has a deep bass voice like JD!

I talked to two couples that I talked to last year tonight. They stay at the campground that I applied for.

Now a little about my room here. I have a microwave, two-burner stove top and a dorm sized fridge. There is about 2 feet of counter space and a single sink. I do cook a little bit here, but not much.

It's been around the lower 60's here the past couple of days and is forecast to be about 10 degrees warmer in the next few days. Have a nice day!

Well, this morning I saw something I don't think I've ever seen before. I was at IHOP and two girls got up and left and didn't pay. They walked until they got out of view of the door and then ran across the parking lot. The waitress yelled at the manager and he took off after them while he was calling the police on his cell phone. A customer also took off after them and the girls ran into a neighboring motel. Well, pretty soon a police officer arrived followed by a second one. As I was leaving (I did pay for mine!) the girls were coming back in with the two officers watching them. All I heard was one of them saying, "I guess we didn't understand..." You would think they would have known they had to pay. I'm guessing it was an expensive breakfast!

It was 72 degrees here today and it really felt good! I was outside several times getting things from the van and refreshing towels at the office and doing laundry.

The mechanic is trying to figure out why my van is surging. He was going to talk to some other people about it and call me back. He's sure it won't just completely stop though, so that's good.

Have a fun day in the snow. It sounds like you might get a lot of it.

As I was leaving church this morning I saw a car leaving from Alaska. That was the second car with Alaska plates I'd seen this trip.

I haven't yet seen the lady at church who reminded me of Josie Kessler. There was an elderly man with a lot of health problems I haven't seen either. I wonder if one or both of them is in a nursing home or has died.

Tonight I saw the Rick Webb family. I had seen them for the first time on Friday morning. They are very good. Rick has a very well-trained voice. He and his wife used to sing with a group at Epcot Center. Tonight a friend of theirs sang a couple of songs with them. He is still at Epcot Center. He has an excellent voice and is very theatrical.

Tomorrow morning I have to take the van to a mechanic. He's the same one I went to once last year. He is old enough that he has a daughter in college, and he's never seen snow! He was so surprised last year when I told him how slick it is! Amazing! The van is fine at highway speed, but at 45 or less it thinks it should jump along part of the time. I hope it isn't something that will take a long time to fix and I hope it is something he can quickly figure out.

Have a good day tomorrow! It's 10:00 pm here, so I'd better get to bed!

Last night I saw the Booth Brothers and tonight Legacy Five. They are two of my favorite groups. I guess I was in the Canadian section tonight. The people to my left were from Sioux St. Marie, Ontario and on my right from Manitoba. The guy from Manitoba drives down here in 3 days of 12 hours each. That doesn't sound like fun to me. I've also talked to people from Ohio, North Carolina, Nebraska and, of course, Michigan.

Funny how I think of all sorts of things I want to include in this until I sit down to do it and then I can't think of them!

You really haven't seen the Booth Brothers until you've seen them in Lakeland. They grew up in Tampa Bay, and Michael worked in Lakeland and lived in Plant City. Jim's parents, sisters, and some other relatives were there too. It's sort of like a homecoming when they are here and they really have a good time. Michael had a sore throat and forgot to bring his vaporizer and went to Wal Mart to get one. He put it in his bunk with him and when he woke up in the morning there was dew all over his bunk. He guessed he must have bought one that was too big for the bus!

I was talking to some people from Ohio today and they asked what we did for a living. When I said we farmed, she said that would have been her guess. How do I look like a farmer?

Well, it's 10:30 here, so I'd better quit and go to bed. Have a good day Sunday.

Well, yesterday could have been better. Lee called me at 6 or so in the evening and I didn't answer him. I later called him and explained that when he called I was driving through Montgomery, Alabama in the mist and fog and dark. Prior to that I had spent most of the afternoon driving in the fog and mist and construction. Prior to that I was driving in haze and construction. I sort of had to keep going because I had a reservation in Troy. It was a nice hotel but I just didn't want to take the time to get the password, etc. for the internet. As I drove through a lot of Alabama, my mind flashed back to the news during the 60's. Selma, Montgomery, and Meridian were all in the news a lot then. I saw Medger Evers memorial interchange as well as Rosa Parks street. Of course I've seen several MLK streets. I remember trying to figure out why black people were judged by the color of their skin at that time, and I still haven't figured it out!

I did figure out that there are two advantages to being in Iowa in the winter. One is that there is no road construction there and the other is that there are no flies. I was at a drive-up window and one flew in my window yesterday! I'll still take the road construction and flies over ice and snow and cold!

Today was a very good day. I had the van serviced and they didn't try to rip me off. When I headed south on I75 in Florida, I really felt like I was headed home. I saw cars from 22 different states and Quebec and Ontario on that strip of Interstate. Many of them looked like they were doing the same thing as I was - headed south for the winter. I would say that about a third of the cars were out of state.

I'm now in the same room as I was in last year and it really feels like home. I haven't had my winter coat on since Tuesday morning when I left Jodi's house! I have two concerts to go to tomorrow and one each on Saturday and Sunday.

Gas is higher in Florida than any place else on my trip so far. I paid $3.17 this morning. I did notice one place somewhere had E85 and it was about 50 cents cheaper than their regular.

Have a nice day!

January 4,2011

I left Jodi's this morning at 9 and arrived here at Pine Bluff at 6. As I was just south of Joplin I realized that I was really enjoying the drive. Some of you are probably aware that this past year of more has not been too enjoyable for me. When I was leaving Cracker Barrel I noticed they had petunias in full bloom outside in the ground - not in pots that could be taken inside at night! I took my coat off before I got to 71 and it now lives in the van! Have a good day!

Linda