2 weeks of nothing - that's a good thing

So it has been two weeks (and a few days) since I last wrote.  Since then Chris and I have been traveling and we aren't quite done yet.  We took two days driving from Georgia to our place in Michigan.  Along the way we saw a few sites - from the car, no stopping on this trip.
We saw the Braves stadium - someday we might have to watch a game there.

Downtown Atlanta

Mountains of Tennessee

and just before stopping for the night we saw the Wind Farms that spread across central Indiana.  The picture does not do the sunset view justice, it was beautiful for being man-made.

The next morning took us to Chicago.

This was my view for the next 3 hours (note to self - do NOT go thru Chicago during morning commute traffic).

We finally arrived in Michigan, where we had to set up the garage as living quarters again.  As some of you know there was drama getting the water on without a leak.  You can all rest easy, I now know which valve needs an extra tweak with a pair of pliers!

This night was the coldest night I have felt in quite a while. It was down to the lower 30's and I even woke to frost. Haru wasn't sure what to make of it! The cold didn't diminish the beauty of the lake one bit.

Once the cool warmed up I started on the outside tasks to make the garage livable again.  I got the mower and started mowing.  While mowing the front I noticed a small wasps nest, so decided to go and get a broom to knock it down. 

As I turned I then noticed a second nest, and a wasp was still using it, so I decided to wait until I got into town and bought some spray.

 I opted for a single can of wasp killer.  I regretted that!  After spraying the two little nests, I found this one

 That one will wait until Lyle comes home!

Chris, Haru and I really enjoyed the peace and quiet that comes with living on the lake, from the peaceful woods

 to the call of the loons in the evening

 the beauty of wild raspberries starting to bloom

 the warmth of a small fire

  perfect for marshmallows

even if they don't quite brown to perfection

and the dark, calm beauty of the night 

 Haru especially enjoyed the freedom of the lake after being cooped up in the truck and hotel rooms day after day.

 We did get to see some wildlife as well.  I woke to deer in the front yard, but was not able to catch them on camera.

I did, however, get a shot of the ants that kept finding their way into our home.  We named them in honor of their large posteriors - Big A** Ants.

 

As we were leaving we found a fox that someone had killed and dumped on the road.  The killers had put the fox in a black trash bag.  But a group of buzzards took it upon themselves to clean up the mess.  We only photographed the birds.  Despite their ugly reputation (and career) they are incredible to watch.

Our last two weeks were broken up with a couple trips to see my dad in Wisconsin.  Tomorrow I head over to Minnesota to see my brother, Rick, and his family before getting Lyle and Stephanie from the airport.  I can't wait!

Our new home

it is official... our new address will be 113 Broomsedge Lane

Broomsedge, by the way, is a type of grass - not a Harry Potter type reference as my daughter was hoping

This is the house we (meaning I since Lyle was only there in spirit) liked the best.  I cannot wait to sign for it, get our Oki stuff, our North Dakota stuff and start making it home!

And, it is in the school district we wanted.  Stephanie will be going to the newly opened Veteran's High School.  I took a trip to find it to get her a picture of her new school.  The campus is HUGE.  I am sure she is going to have a blast her final three years!

In the meantime, Chris and I have one more day here in Georgia to try to set a few things up for our return.  Then we are headed up to the lake in Michigan for a few days.  I cannot wait for the first campfire!

house hunting

Today was the day I started to find our Georgia house. Our realtor picked Chris and I up at 9 o'clock this morning with a list of 14 houses that met our original specs.

Three hours later I had the list narrowed down to 6 houses, but it was time for lunch and Haru needed her walk. so Chris and I went back to our room and Tim (our realtor) went back to change our search criteria a bit.

After lunch, it was just Tim and I visiting 2 new locations and revsiting my favorites. After showing Lyle some pictures we have it narrowed down to three:

Mulberry floor plan with a HUGE master suite

House with a media room in addition to a living room

Or the house that has my family figured out - Nice kitchen leading to a breakfast nook leading to the living room. Throw in perfect sized bedrooms and you have the house we are most likely buying.

For pictures of the top 6 houses you can look on my facebook photo albums.

What do you think?

finally!

Chris and I had one goal today - make it toWarner-Robins.  Of course we enjoyed the trip along the way.

We drove through Birmingham

We did have a road side stop to find - Vulcan the Iron Man,.  Unfortunately he seems to have gone missing, but here was his house

We then tried to find our way back to our road.  We found it but not before accidently finding the Zoo

Our next roadside stop was supposed to be the grave of the inventor of Coca-Cola

 We drove through construction

 and around closed roads

 and still managed to find the cemetary, but not the grave we intended to find

but it was an interesting cemetary.  Someday I would like to go back and try to find the original grave.  Back on the road we knew we were in Gerogia due to the pecan groves and the peach orchards

 And finally our final destination:

We checked into our extended stay hotel and are set to start our househunting in the morning.

four more states

Today was another big travel day.  We started the day at the western edge of Arkansas and drove across the state in heavy traffic

But it at least gave us something to look at (even Haru)

Because there was nothing else to do

Eventually we reached Memphis Tennessee

But we were only there for a short while before we entered Mississippi

We had decided not to visit Graceland on this tour because we had the dog, but we tried to do a driveby of Graceland, Too.  This is what we found

Originally we planned on stopping at the childhood home of Elvis, Tupelo Mississippi.  But due to hotel issues, we had to move farther down the road and ended our day in Hamilton, Alabama.

Tomorrow is the last day of the Georgia Bound tour, then it is time for some serious house hunting.

Arkansas by way of Oklahoma

Today was a very short driving day, but it was a great day. 

I got to spend time with another friend and she invited yet another, so it was two for one day!

I got to spend the ENTIRE afternoon chatting with my friend Susan, and she suprised me with a visit from another North Dakota friend, Zena.

 for those that don't know, Zena is on the left in blue and Susan is the one in pink on the right. 

It was wonderful to see them both, catch up and eat some incredible Papa Murphy's pizza (their De-lite thin crust is yummy).  The suprise of the day---Zena is headed back up to Grand Forks!  Unless something comes up to cancel their orders, the will be up before the start of school!

Eventually the afternoon had to come to an end.  Susan had to go to school, and we had to get back on the road to reach our goal of Ft. Smith Arkansas.

We made it, picked up a easy dinner at Subway and are relaxing in our room.  Tomorrow's goal - Tupelo, Mississippi!

Texas!

Today I am not posting a single road picture!  But that means a slightly shorter blog.

Actually it is shorter because while we did a lot of driving, our day was spent driving across Texas, which if you have ever been, is not much to look at.

We started our day in New Mexico and drove another stretch of Historic Route 66.  We took some pictures then moved on to Texas

Once in Texas we stopped at Famous Cadillac Ranch, where a rancher buried a row of cars.

  Imagine our surprise to find the Food Network there recording a show.  I am not sure which one, but I am sure someone knows.  Chris took pictures of some of their food trucks as a clue

We had taken Haru with us to visit the cars, but she was making too much noise for the set, so we left without seeing much.

Our last tourist stop was in Amarillo for the Cowboy Muffler Man

We were supposed to see a Helium tower of some type, but we got lost and had enough trouble finding the interstate again.

A few hours later we were back in our former home of Wichita Falls.  The purpose of our stop here was purely selfish for me.  I needed to see a good friend, Margaret.  She said it best when she said you know a friendship is true, when even after 6 years apart, you can sit down to dinner and laugh like you never left.

Tomorrow, another dear friend and the state of Oklahoma!  See you then