Day Three: I'm on God's Expense Account

Day three is just dawning as I sit at Jeanenne and Larry's home in their marvelous, outdoor room that is completely glassed in, including the ceiling. Comfort and hospitality are all around me and I'm sipping a cup of coffee from their new Keurig rig over at the family coffee and beverage nook.

Now that you know I made it to Missouri you'll be wondering what happened to Day Two. Another 460 miles is the answer; passing through still another rain deluge in Columbus' morning traffic that grew sparse in the space between there and Dayton when an additional downpour struck during passage through their environs. On my way through Dayton, I waved at Marge with a "Hey Siri" text since she was at that moment on a short visit to her sisters who live there.

Shoutout to Pam and Jon in Ohio: Hello Y'all. I'll see you next time you're in PA.

In and out of lessening rain my pony and I went until arrival in the latter part of yesterday afternoon to be followed three minutes later by Jeanenne and Larry who timed their return from a few days in Branson to arrive home almost the exact same time. Together, we hauled everything in and got down to some serious visiting. When you step into that circle of warmth the miles melt away.

There is a lot more visiting to be done today as I meet the two newest members of Jeanenne and Larry's now large, extended family over the next couple of days and a niece I haven't seen in awhile will stop by, too. Tucked in will be a trip over to Daniel Boone's last homestead not far away. North America's resettling history happened a century or so later around here than Pennsylvania's but is no less interesting. Some of our families' early people to arrive were among those first finding a way to live in this region.

Getting back to the drive, gone are the days of a lazy, stop here and there for something that catches your eye, a backroad route here and there, seeing America along the way. Yeah, our gas is a lot cheaper than it was there for awhile, but the motels and hotels didn't hear about lower gas prices and charge according to what their customers on their way to conferences in New York or Washington are willing to fork over. I'm on God's expense account, so it matters.