I'm baaaack.......So where do I start?  From the beginning?  Ok.  I'll get a running start and then try to catch everyone up on what has been happening in my life for the last several weeks.

I've told you how bad things have been lately with the company that Vol Fan and I work for.  Well, things went from bad to worse and Vol Fan was laid off around the first of May.  He went into a job-hunting frenzy.  Thankfully, he did not have a hard time finding a job.  Still in the same line of work but a little farther from home.  Yep, this job requires us to be in California for 6 months.  In making the move, we decided to take a little time and see some of our beautiful country. 

We packed up Vol Fan's truck and headed out.  The first day was mainly driving but we took the time to stop in Metropolis, Illinois to visit Superman.  Doesn't Vol Fan make a fine Superman?

We stopped in 'middle-of-nowhere' Missouri for the night.  Vol Fan and I like 24 so we needed to see the season finale.  How lame is that!!

The next day, we headed toward Kansas with a stop in Independence, Missouri to visit The Harry S. Truman National Historic Site.  Too bad that their home was closed for repairs:(  But Independence seemed like a fun little town.  It would have been nice to have extra time to explore.

But the rest of the trip was calling so off we went to Topeka, Kansas to visit Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site.  It was a very well laid out and informative site.  But like a lot of historic sites, it involves history and tended toward the dry as dust side.

Next we headed off to visit with my great-aunt Jean.  She has always been just loads of fun and now at age 78, she is still full of vigor and is loving life!  We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Topeka Steakhouse and then went to watch my cousin's twin daughters play softball.  Those girls are good!!

The next morning, after a teary goodbye, we headed west across Kansas.  The picture that I had in my head of Kansas was not the reality that we encountered.  I was expecting Kansas to be flat, empty, boring.  It was flat and empty (especially western Kansas) but I was enthralled by the beautiful landscape.  I think the constant wind might wear on me though.

We stopped in western Kansas at Nicodemus National Historic Site.  It was a pioneer settlement of African-Americans.  Today, the descendants still have an annual reunion, which I thought was very cool.

After that stop, we headed toward Denver for the night.  Ended up overshooting the place and staying in a podunk motel for really, really cheap:)