I'm sorry.....really.....

My blog title for Wednesday apparently caused some concern with a few of our readers who thought "The end has come..." meant we were hanging up the keys to our nomadic life, or that something bad had happened.  I was just trying to say it was our last day in Indianapolis.  So, for those of you who might have initially been concerned I apologize......I think.

The first part of our departure day, Thursday, went swimmingly.......we stowed away all the loose stuff, hooked up the trailer, then rolled the T-Bird inside the trailer.  We've done it over and over again for 16 months now, and we have departures down to a science.  Then it was over to the Krogers fuel station on Crawfordsville Road.  I'm glad we scouted the approach to the station the day before, because our route choice was flawless, and the station at 10 am was not very busy so we had our pick of pumps.  We were at just half a tank and we took on 88 gallons of diesel.....the first 35 gallons utilizing our 30 cent per gallon discount, which brought the per gallon price down to $3.51 for the first 35 gallons.  We averaged $3.69/gallon for the entire fuel purchase, which is not bad.....unleaded prices are through the roof....well above $4.

Next up was a stop at the Flying J truck stop in Lebanon to dump our black tank and give it a thorough flushing before we head out on our 10 day journey to Sioux Falls.  We were in and out of the station in about 35 minutes heading north on I-65.  Our destination was Highland, Indiana......well, actually a nice Walmart in Hammond, Indiana...about 156 miles from our starting point....a perfect travel day for us.  

A surprise at Keith's office......very sweet!  Keith is on the right replete with his White Sox baseball cap.

We picked up a rest stop at about the 90 mile mark and took a break, which included a snack and a few laps of walking around the parking lot.  Within a few minutes of merging back on to I-65 we drove into a rain storm, which lasted almost all the way to Hammond......and then it stopped.....made it easy to get into the Walmart parking lot without having to fight the rain, and traffic.  Regretfully that means my shinny, sparkly ALCOA wheels are no longer shinny, or sparkly.....I should have known polishing them would guaranty rain on Thursday.

We arrived around 1:30, although our clocks said 2:30......we are now officially in the Central Time Zone for the first time since late September, 2012.  My college friend, Keith Speakes, dropped by around 2:30 to pick TLE and I up and take us on a tour of the area.  Keith runs a non-profit company called Neighborhoods, Inc. that does work in the surrounding areas to improve neighborhoods, and the quality of life.  He drove us through some of the economically devastated neighborhoods in Gary, IN.......it was shocking to see half the homes on each block abandoned, and in many cased burned out shells.  It looked like a bomb had been dropped.  Keith is very passionate about his work, and the Calumet Region is lucky to have him.  We spent a few hours driving around, and frankly, we were both fascinated by the work he has, and is doing in this area.

Around 6 we met up with Keith's lovely wife Ginny, who I also knew from my college days, and went to the Cavalier Inn....a local Polish restaurant run by a good friend of Keith's.  TLE and I opted for the Polish Platter which had a selection of Polish dishes such as Polish sausage, 3 different types of mixed Perogi, Golabki (stuffed cabbage), potato pancakes, sauerkraut, etc. capped off with Pazcki's for dessert....yummy!  Keith and I had a couple of draft Okocim's....a Polish beer, and it was very, very good.  The entire meal was delicious, and the conversation flowed....before we knew it 3 hours had flown by.  Keith and Ginny delivered us back to our "home" and we said our "until next times".

We missed Keith and Ginny last year, and are so glad we could hook up with them this time around.  So, so great to reconnect with friends from the past.  Oh by the way, Keith is an avid White Sox fan, and as such you are required to "HATE" the Cubs......it is certainly a visceral thing.

The Walmart where we are parked was an excellent choice, and our thanks go out to Keith for the recommendation.......Friday we will head north into Wisconsin.....looking forward to doing some bike riding on some of their famous "Rails To Trails" bike paths in the LaCrosse/Onalaska area.

Thanks for stopping by!