At Winnebago Home in Iowa

We are about a week and a half out on the road, and have arrived at the Winnebago factory for some service on the coach.  For those of you who have not seen our coach, here is a picture (with our Lincoln "toad" parked behind) in the Shady Oaks Campground in Marshaltown, IA.

But I am getting ahead of myself.  Our first stop was a quick overnight in northern Ohio, and then we traveled uneventfully to Zanesville, Ohio where Larry spent his teenage years.  Larry's brother, Jack, lives there now with his family.                      

Zanesville is famous for its Y-Bridge which spans the Licking and Muskingum rivers.  It is joked that one can go all the way across the bridge and still be on the same side of the river... which is true.  The Y-Bridge used to be a key point on the old Route 40.  Just go to the middle of the river and turn right.

The visit with Jack and family was filled with Dee's terrific cooking and blessed by sunny, but hot, weather.

We left Zanesville for a quick stop in Muncie, IN to visit with Larry's second brother, Rodger.  Again, sunny, hot weather was the order of the day... and we even got to enjoy watching a softball game by Ainsley (pictured below on the left).  That is brother Rodger on the right.  Dustin, Rod's son, is in the back left.  Sara, Dustin's wife and Ainsley's mom, is in the back on the right.  Larry, of course, is the shining head on the right.

After Muncie we traveled to East Peoria, IL.  I will have to admit that I viewed this as a quick stop on our way to Iowa,  but we were in for a very pleasant surprise.  The old industrial town of East Peoria has been revitalized and rebuilt.  There are hiking trails, clean waterfront (on the Illinois River), and interesting museums.  But, for those who know us well, the real attraction was a fish market that would easily compete with the best on the east coast.  After picking up fresh fish and stopping at a local farmers' market for fresh produce, we settled into a river front campground for a leisurely evening.  Actually, the riverfront was a little high, so the spot we were expecting to be parking in was under water.  But we found dry, level ground with power, running water, and a sewer connection.

We had one more stop before arriving at the Winnebago factory.  We stopped in Marshalltown, IA to connect with Larry's best friend when he lived in Washington, IA.  Hugh Dougall lived next door.  Through the wonders of the Internet Larry was able to find Hugh after nearly 60 years of separation, and we were delighted to get together.

The stop at the Winnebago factory took two days, but all system have be set right and we are ready to begin our travels again tomorrow.  Just in passing, I must mention that we traveled today to a very small town in Northern Iowa that was supposed to be highly "Norwegian".  We thought lunch at the Norse Hus would probably be charming.  Today the special was spaghetti.  But the best part was the editorial comment by the town mutt.  This place was so boring that he sat on Main street facing a wall rather than the street (maybe an ant would crawl up there)!