USA Sweet USA

Miles Traveled...1835

The traveling is officially over. It was at nearly 10:30PM that Sylvester and Loretta, aka Sly and Lo, picked Sara and I up from the airport. It was Sly's birthday so we tried two restaurants on the way home to get him his birthday brew. Claim Jumpers- closed, Joe's Crab Shack- closed...0-2. Finally, we decided to head back to Maricopa and try to find a brew there. We knew that we could always count on the Ak-Chin bar if all else failed. I could see the crazy look in Sly's eyes as his hopes of getting his birthday beer diminished.

Road weary, but home...Sara and I

He had one final chance before being forced to go for the casino beer! NATIVE NEW YORKER. We arrived there shortly after mid-night. Signs were good...there were cars in the lot and people sitting in the bar. I went in on the scouting mission to make sure they would be open long enough for a birthday beer. I walked around and tried to find a worker for five minutes while the rest of the posse waited in the car. At last, Sly gave up on waiting. He firmly announces, “They are open until 2!”

I didn't ask him how he knew this information. We got him his beer and finally rolled back home to Alterra and crawled into “our” old familiar bed. We enjoyed Easter festivities at Our Lady of Grace parish. On Easter we had Ruth, and her kids (Sly and Lo's “replacement” daughter, along with our friends, Chris, Kayt, Stephanie, and Gene. It was one of the greatest Easters ever. Steak, Shrimp, beer, friends, family, and Jesus. What more could you want. We have been spending time touching base with our Phoenix posse to prepare for our move to Cleveland.

Allie's welcome home

So far, we have seen, Tim and Kate Royal, Marleen, Kevin, Brad, Laura, and Brian. Good times my friends... good times.

Kate and Baby Royal!

Kevin and Marleen

Kayt and Chris

Next stop car saga and what will become of the Phoenix Western Resort on Coronado?

It has been some time since our last entry. Sara and I have been rediscovering the wonders of the United States.

Three weeks visiting Sara's Mom & Dad in Arizona and preparing for the move passed too quickly. I spent a few days underneath the xterra with Charlie replacing a rear main seal and oil pan gasket.

The X- aka. our conestoga

Sly and Lo

Finally it was departure time. On day one we only crossed into one state...New Mexico.

The drive through rim country from Phoenix was delightful and reminded us of the wide open spaces that the west still has to offer.

Cactus adios

Toward rim country

Pine Forest Northern AZ

Fort Courage anyone

We were greeted warmly by Mike Shawver and Rosie who are to be wed next weekend. They hosted us to a delightful home cooked dinner and showed us the sights of downtown Albuquerque.

High Plains New Mexico

Rosie and Mike

Scares 1. check engine light has now come on steadily.
Delights MANY!

Next stop Loveland CO.

Next: the reunion
Miles travelled....231 miles
With great excitement CJ recognized Sara and ran over to the car. He threw in his bag, and we headed out to his house with him giving us directions! He gave us all of the second grade dirt and told us about his new puppy, Max, a blue-haired heeler. We worked on homework and awaited the return of Val and Don. We made shake and bake chicken for dinner, and caught up on the news about the new corn furnace. We helped Val do some organization at the house, while Don prepared for his bobcat hunting trip in Northern Missouri.
We got to know CJ's DS, and his enjoyment of computer games, spongebob, Mario, Star Wars, and snowforts. We saw Max continue to learn the ropes of sitting and going number one and two-- outside only please!! On Friday as a treat, we took CJ bowling, and he got his first strike of the year, and Sara was high bowler for the day. That weekend we rented a movie, Star Trek, and rented a DS game for CJ-- Mario winter olympics—quite apropos.

WOW! Good times at the Hay household.
On Tuesday, we headed back to Chicago to pick up Tim from the airport. He took us out to some sweet authentic Chinese food before we all crashed for the night. Sara and I continued our job search and apartment hunting while Tim was at work. After some conferencing among the sibs, we arranged a Friday trip back to Freeport together to celebrate CJ's eighth birthday.
Unfortunately, CJ got a bad 10 hour flu bug. By the time we arrived, his skin was green and all he could do was smile to greet us between bathroom trips. The next morning we had breakfast together at the beltline Cafe, before Tim had to head back to Chicago. Sara and I stayed behind for some more quality time. Over the next week everyone except Tim managed to fall victim to this virulent bug. Bathrooms throughout the house took a beating.
On the bright side, furniture was picked out, and the floor was completed in the family room of the house. The oak hardwood looks great, we can't wait to see it with furniture and TV fully functioning. Don played host to us one day and took us to historic Monroe Wisconsin, home of the oldest brewery in the midwest and the capital of American Limburger cheese. At Baumgartners Cafe, I tried the house specialty, Limburger sandwich with onions, surprisingly tasty, and one of the local brews. After a quick stop at Farm and Fleet, for wood pellets we headed back to Illinois.
Other highlights were enjoying the Superbowl at the Hay farm on State Line Road. Tom and Judy, Don's parents, provided a nice meal and warm welcome during the festivities. During all of this time we were preparing for CJ's big birthday trip to Chicago to see the Blackhawks at the United Center, have dinner out, and go to the Aquarium.

Next the Big Birthday blow-out