Rockford, Illinois

Friday, July 31

We are currently in the thriving metropolis of Rockford, Illinois.

I thought we were going via Thunder Bay to drive across Canada because Ellie had said she has always wanted to drive across Canada but I took the second shift of driving and just followed what Ellie told me to do. My geographic knowledge of Ontario is more than slightly lacking so following signs saying Windsor did not twig me that we were going south. When I saw signs that said American border, I started to wonder. Yup, we had decided to drive across the US of A.

We needed to stop and stretch our legs and Ellie wanted some water so we got off the road and stopped at a small convenience store. They wouldn’t take Canadian money so she tried her credit cards. It rejected the first two and the clerk was told to keep the third card! When Ellie talked to her husband last night, he said that last week he had reported the card as stolen but had forgotten to tell her! Fortunately, I got an American Express card from Costco a little while ago so that one worked and we were on the road again.

We drove the ring road around Chicago and stopped in Rockford for the night. Today, we are aiming for Fargo, North Dakota then either Regina or Saskatoon for Saturday night. I would really like to see John and Carley and their new house. He was actually in Calgary again last weekend – there was supposed to be a 10 year high school reunion but it fizzled out however he did get together with some friends so it wasn’t a complete loss. Carley’s family had something going on in Canmore so she was out there.

Ellie and I are good travelling companions. We can talk or drive in silence without feeling put upon. Yesterday we covered quite a bit about our kids as well as a few friends. We laughed, problem solved, gave each other advice.

James is continuing to paint Dave’s house so when we arrive, Ellie and I can see what progress has been made.

On to bigger and better things.


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