Suhweeet!

There are just some travel days that will stick in your mind for a long, long time.  Thursday was such a day for us.  We awoke to clear skies after the storm the night before, but there was still some hint of wind from the north/northwest.  It's amazing how a little sunshine, and clear skies will change your perspective on a place.  Riverside Park, where we overnighted, was looking much more inviting than when we arrived.

We decided not to have breakfast right away, but wait until the first rest stop in Julesburg, CO, just a few miles from the Nebraska border.  As we cruised north and east the wind subsided gradually.  The road was flat and straight, and the cruise control was working wonderfully.....I just held on to the steering wheel and enjoyed the drive.  I-76 from Denver up to I-80 where it ends has  a lot of rough patches.  There is a lot of road work going on right now, so it appears they are trying to fix those areas.  Eventually the road smoothed out, and the wind, although somewhat abated, turned into a tail wind.  When that happens it gets so quiet!  You feel as if you are just floating down the road....and that is how the rest of the day went for us.

We took the aforementioned break in Julesburg at a very nice rest area, which doubles as a visitor's center.  TLE discovered they have a lending library where she found four books she hadn't read, and exchanged them for four she had already read.....okay, that's good.....4 out and 4 in.....I like the symmetry of that, but balance would be upset later in the day.....stay tuned.

Our total driving distance to North Platte, our day's destination, was 182 miles.  I could have driven twice that distance with no side wind, and no road so rough it shakes your eye teeth loose.  I was almost disappointed when I saw exit 177 come into view, but was happy to return to one of our favorite overnight parking spots in the midwest....oh, by the way, we are now in the Central Time Zone once again.  A couple of years ago we spent two nights in the Walmart parking lot here.  We rode our bikes all over and saw quite a few interesting things....you can read about it here.  Ironically we experienced the same type of conditions the last time we arrived here only going east to west that time.....a nice tailwind all day, and a smooth highway.  There is just something about North Platte, NE!

Our original ETA for North Platte was 1 pm, but with the time change it was suddenly 2 pm, not 1 pm!  While I was parking our coach TLE had been on Yelp looking for a place to have a late lunch.......there is a new place in town called Bailey's American Cuisine, virtually right across the street from the Walmart parking lot.....it is in a very new building that was not here two years ago.

Thunderhead Jalapeno

About 2:15 we walked across the street to Bailey's and immediately ordered two local Nebraska seasonal brews called Thunderhead Jalapeno....WOW!  Make that two!  For lunch I had the Blackened Salmon salad, and TLE had the Mac 'n Cheese......that Mac 'n Cheese was like no other I have ever tasted, however, I loved my choice and cherished every bite.

After lunch we walked a block down the street to the local Goodwill store that we had spied as we crossed the street to Bailey's.  This is where the book symmetry was upset.......TLE found 4 more books she hadn't read, so now the book collection has grown by a net 4....I don't know where she is putting those books, but if she buys many more she'll have to hold them in her lap.

By the time we finished our walk back to the coach it was going on 5 pm and it was time for a nap.....at least for me.  I woke up about an hour later feeling refreshed, and suggested we walk into the Walmart to pick up some chips to go with the promised "street tacos" I was having for dinner.  Around 7 we ate dinner....by the time the sun had set we found ourselves in the middle of the proverbial "RV" ghetto.....no less than 10 more RV's had joined us in this, apparently, well known overnight spot.  As I write this post they are pulling out one by one to continue their journeys east, west, north and south.

We were in bed by 11:30......really felt more like 10:30.........

In honor of "Throwback Thursday" here is a picture of TLE and I in Kauai on our 20th anniversary back in 1991.

Thanks for stopping by......and also, thank you to those who became followers yesterday, and pushed us over the 100 mark.....we are now at 101......a big thanks to Laurie May and Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson for becoming the 99th and 100th members respectively!