We made a whirlwind trip to take the motorhome back. Sorry we didn't have more time to visit everyone. We did get to see Mom and Ronnie and eat some homecooked meals. Ronnie took Jim fishing for a little while, and Mom and I got to spend some time shopping. It was good for both of us, and we really enjoyed it. We also got to see Jason and Tamara. Tamara cooked a wonderful dinner for Jim's birthday, then we went bowling and had alot of fun. We got a lane next to some guys who really knew what they were doing, but I don't think they laughed at us TOO hard! :)

We put an igloo doghouse in Josh's back yard for the puppies, and Jim installed a heat lamp in the roof to keep them warm as the days get colder. I got to visit with Heather for a few minutes while she was on her lunch break. Josh was in Colorado for the week, and I really missed getting to see him.

Next, we went to Lubbock and went out to dinner with Shirley and Travis. Jim and his mom have the same birthday, so it was a double celebration. Teresa, Randy, and Brandon met us at Harrigan's, and it was good to see them, too. I enjoy Teresa, because she loves to laugh, and so do I. It really is some of the best medicine for what ails ya! :0)

Shirley had baked a birthday cake (chocolate with peppermint sprinkles - yum), so we ate some more before bedtime. Since it was a 1200 mile drive from Indianapolis to Snyder, we were exhausted by the time that we got there, so we decided to just leave the Jeep in Lubbock and fly back to Indy. We'll fly back home for Christmas, then drive the Jeep back north. It was sooooo nice to fly that distance in about 4 hours instead of driving. We've been driving between 12,000 and 15,000 miles a month, so this was quite a reprieve.

Right now, we're headed from Indianapolis to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. If you'd told us that we would get two loads to South Dakota within one week of each other, we wouldn't have believed it because it is unusual to go that far west with Panther. While we were in Indianapolis, the owner of Expedite Solutions (our fleet owner) asked us to consider applying for Panther's Elite Services Division. It pays about 25 percent more per mile, and you get more load offers. It requires government clearance, so I told Jim he'd have to fess up to his extensive criminal history :0)

It also requires that we get our hazmat endorsement, so we'll have to get back to Texas to take the test pretty soon. The Elite Services division is difficult to get into, so I hope that we can get everything cleared pretty easily.

Well, we just passed through Peoria, Illinois. I never realized it was such a big city. I tried to take a picture of a really pretty church and also of the Festival of Lights sign, but they just don't turn out too well at night. I'll try to add some pictures tomorrow if we see anything interesting. We'll probably be relocating to St Paul, MN after we drop this load.

Take care, and please stay in touch. It's always great to hear from all of you.