hello denver!

alex and sara – denver hosts!

Originally uploaded by rachaelvoorhees

we found alex and sara….more like they found us at an olive garden. we are currently sitting in their (amazing) living room recounting stories from city high school back in the dizzzzay. its amazing how many people they remember. alex thinks he has a crooked head, judge for yourself.

Late Afternoon-ish, Monday, somewhere in Nebraska

6:35 p.m. Central Time
Somewhere in Nebraska, where we’ve been for the last umpteen hours.

We stopped for lunch in Lincoln — the capital city of the great state of Nebraska. We took ourselves for a self-guided tour of the University of Nebraska, including the addition of a new Nebraska sweatshirt for Josh’s wardrobe. Lincoln was a neat town…

“Your ipod? We can’t listen to that!”

Next stop – Gothenburg, Nebraska. We went to the Pony Express station there. The interpreter was great — it took 10 days to get mail from Sacramento to some city in Missouri. The riders would ride for 10-12 miles on a horse, stop at a Pony Express station, switch out horses, and keep going. They’d ride for about 100 miles a day — on upwards of 10 different horses. The Pony Express only lasted for 18 months before it was disbanded with the invention of the telegraph. This station was in the middle of a delightful park, the interpreter was a townie having lived in Gothenburg for 30 years. She quilts in her free time – and sets up American Greetings displays during the winter. Her daughter is in the Army and was stationed in the DC area, so we exchanged thoughts on the Hope Diamond. It was a great little town – population of 3,619 last time we checked. We didn’t stop in to see if there were any new additions to town – we’ve got places to go.

Noon….Monday. Marne, Iowa.

12:01 p.m. Central Time
Just Outside of Marne, Iowa

Stopping outside of Des Moines at the Living History Farms was the greatest idea we have had yet today. Katie met us at the Iowa Welcome Center there with a cup of coffee, some great stories, an amazing hug or four, and a paper bag full of wonder and amazement.. The bag is full of individually wrapped gifts/surprises/excitement for us to discover over the course of today…..I have just opened the sidewalk chalk. Rest stops beware!

I’d like to share the inscription, in permanent marker, from the side of the bag:

“After taking out my innards, you can use me for a trash can, or to write notes to fellow travelers, or to keep out the sun when you stop for a mid-day beer, or as a fan when your a/c stops working, or as a cover for the head of an ugly one-night-stand, or even as a vomit sack. Have fun!”

It is awesome to have friends that can compile all of my needs on one paper bag! I just found fruit leather….must eat without getting the keys sticky.