Are we there yet?

The day started way too early for any human being to be civil:
The Beauty and the Beast, where Lady is obviously the beauty....

For those who have watched Shrek 2, you will see how this picture is the inspiration for the title:

Today went by without a hitch (no pun intended), thank the Lord. Apart from a little bit of rain that we got from the remnants of Gustav, the trip was quite uneventful and borderline boring. CORN CORN CORN and GIGANTIC TRUCKS is also we saw:

Have you ever seen these triple trailers??? They are huge!

We drove approximately 550 miles and crossed 4 states: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin (we changed the route, surprise!!!). Ohio was very smooth because they have nice and dog-friendly stops b(with Starbucks!!!!!!). Illinois was horrible. They drive like maniacs and the highway is under construction and it sucks. Of course, I was the one driving that section, so I ..itched the whole time :-). My husband is a Saint.

Now look at this funny guy here, it looks like it is coming towards us, doesn't it?

It got us worried for a moment... Hehehe, it was being towed by another f..ing huge truck!!! Chef, your smart car cannot survive on these roads, it will be truck food!



The dogs behaved exceptionally well again today and Lady did not even mind the rain. Shooter would do the occasional "Are we there yet?" check and go back to sleep, quite comfortably I might say. Check Jos's posting for further detail


We just enjoyed a supper of local cheese, crackers and wine and tonight we will sleep in De Forest, Wisconsin, "America's Dairyland". Tomorrow, it all starts again, at the unGodly hour of 6am and we'll see how far we can get. Tune in for more adventure and fun!

PA: 300 miles of nothing

Drove 300 plus miles to get through Pennsylvania.

Only trucks on the road, trees on the side of the highway, and almost every exit a picture like this, as a brief reminder in which country one is (allthough in the very near future, I think this picture could be in Iraq too) :-)

And now a picture from our sponsor :-)

"This trailer is not horizontal anymore"

Jos's words will go down in history, and he was right. We had a flat!!!! We had not even entered the highway, we were on the access ramp, just left the hotel, 8 am and we HAD A FLAT!!!! And all my perfectly correct Belgian husband said was "The trailer is not horizontal anymore".... I love him.

Well, that put a 3 hour delay on our departure and some 31 negative miles, but we had both tires replaced, for safety-sake and we got on the highway again, in the correct direction around lunch time.

So my planning for the first day went down the tubes too and instead of Sandusky OH, we're in Youngstown OH. Thank God it is Ohio, though because I could not stand Pennsylvania anymore. You know, they have a very funny plate on the highway in PA that says "Buckle Up for the Next Million Miles", and no kidding, because that state does seem to stretch for 1 million frigging miles. :-) But we crossed the border and we feel very happy about that.

One special tribute goes to Lady and Shooter today. These dogs are AMAZING. They slept pretty much the whole time, just switching sides and position in the car. They are now lounging on the floor of the hotel room near me, just happy to be with us. What troopers they are. Not a whine and not a growl.

We have tons of pictures and videos of today, so enjoy!

Jogging

I went for my last jogging session in West Orange a few days ago. It hurt a bit, but I just had to do it, saying goodbye to all the houses and streets that I ran for so many years.
8 years, averaging 250 days per year, averaging 3-4 miles per day, makes a total of about 7,000 miles of running. I guess I could run to Napa and back (a few times over); it would just take me a couple of years.
I had the idea of taking one of the greys with me a few times, but the concept never materialized: I told myself that they would not be able to run that long, but maybe I was afraid of being outrun by them.
I have forgotten most of my runs already, but the memories of having Geert jog on my side many years ago and running with Dirk just a few weeks ago will always stay with me...

Can someone tell me how to get to Napa, CA

We have left the house, but haven't gotten any closer to our target. On the contrary!!

Originally, we had 'only' 2862 miles to destination.
Last I checked here in the hotel in Cranbury, NJ (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Cranbury,+NJ&ie=UTF8&z=12&iwloc=addr), we now have 2888 miles to go.
I guess we started off in the wrong direction... :-) Time to turn on the nav-system!

Friends are the greatest treasure in life

It is befitting that we spent our last Holiday with Jo and Al.

Jo has been a constant presence in our lives for over 15 years. Jos first met her in Japan in 1992 and through one of these coincidences in life she came back to the US around the same time we moved to NJ in 1996. We became fast friends and have been ever since.

Then she met Al and he also became part of our family. Lots of good memories that we share, including my wedding. We love them so much that Shooter's first name is actually Aljo (another coincidence, no kidding).

So this posting is a tribute to Jo and Al, our very good friends. We thank them for everything they have done for us throughout these past 12 years and we wish them happiness, love and good fortune. And we will be looking forward to seeing them again soon. They will be moving with us, in our hearts, as all my friends and family will.