Hi-ho, hi-ho……adventuring I go…..er, I went…..this morning to be exact. Around 7:30 a.m., I headed south, led onward by sunny skies, odd contrail configurations, spots on the windshield, pleasant thoughts of the people I would be meeting this morning, and vague plans for a bit of mall-shopping in the afternoon.
Our farm sits about ten minutes from the northern starting point of I-380, providing us with convenient, zippy four-lane driving to the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City-Coralville area. Next is a photo of the Quaker Oats plant, offered as proof that my route went through Cedar Rapids.
Why---you may ask---was Coralville my destination? Well, I will gladly tell you. A few days ago I received an email from blogger extraordinaire, Caution Flag, of The Human Race 600 blog. She told me she and her husband, Checkered, and their family would be stopping in Iowa on their way from Michigan to Dodge City, Kansas, and El Paso, Texas. She wondered if there was any way we could meet in Coralville, as they would be staying there overnight. Well, there certainly was a way, and not difficult to arrange at all!
We met at IHOP, across from Coral Ridge Mall…..where I hoped to do some browsing later. Ahem. Upon arriving at IHOP a few minutes early, I sat down at a table to relax and look through my purse. It dawned on me suddenly that the purse had seemed unusually light in weight as I carried it into the restaurant. Oh, why would that be?! I frantically dug around in the purse…….something was terribly wrong. My camera was there, but NO billfold!. Dang. I must have left it at home on the kitchen counter after filling it with cash. Dang. No cash, no credit cards, no driver’s license, no checkbook. No paying for my food. No shopping afterwards (which was no big deal). AND, no buying fuel on the 1-1/2 hour drive home (which could be a big deal).
Before long, Caution and Checkered and their lovely family strode into IHOP from the hotel next door. They must have slept well…..everyone was clear-eyed and smiling, ready for another day of traveling.
Truly, what a delightful family this is, though, I have no idea how Big Sister puts up with THREE Kid Brothers! We ordered our breakfasts, which were very yummy (I had a Belgian waffle), and enjoyed chatting and laughing for over 1-1/2 hours. Because I’ve been reading Caution’s blog for nearly a year now, I felt well-acquainted with her already, the same as when I met Laura of Silence is Broken blog a couple months ago. (We met in the IC/Coralville area, too.)
What a joy to make the acquaintance of these special people, and it never would have transpired if not for blogging! There, now……if that’s not a positive plug for blogging, I don’t know what is!
I pray safe traveling for Caution and Checkered and their family. They told me they had room in the van if I wanted to ride along to their next destination, Dodge City, Kansas. Wow…..what fun that would have been! The TV show, “Gunsmoke” was regular fare at our house when I was a kid. My, my……Marshal Dillon, Miss Kitty, Festus, Doc……they were like members of our family. Did you know James Arness is still going strong and interacts with fans on his website?
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“Happy Trails to You!” (I know, I know…..that was Roy Rogers’ theme---not Gunsmoke’s---but “happy trails” to you, anyway!)
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10 comments:
I see you had quite an adventure. How did you pay for the meal? Did you have to wash dishes and scrub floors? Or did you have some wild money stashed away in the car or your pocket? What a surprise to find you had no money with you. Did you feel naked? LOL...
I am so glad you had a fun time with your blogging buddy. We'll have to meet sometime in Waterloo. Then when I tell my husband something I read on your blog, he won't say, "Who is she?" ;)
I wondered about the meal thing too.
I assume from the fact that this is posted that you made it back safe and sound. (I absolutely hate forgetting my wallet!)
So how did you solve the apparent no money (plastic or cash)dilemma Janelle?
Ms Soup
Did you have to wash dishes to pay for your meal?
Dodge City, how wonderful to check that out...I am not sure I could have turned them down.
Hi, Gramma Ann,
Totally stupid is how I felt. I was afraid Caution and Checkered might think forgetting my wallet was my normal modus operandi. They kindly paid for my breakfast!
Yes, you and I should meet in Waterloo or CF. Let me know when sometime when you're coming up this way. Your husband....funny...."who IS she?". Why I could be anybody or anything for all he knows.
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Hi, Ruth,
I wanted to keep you all in suspense! And, yes I made it home with no problems, though my gas gauge was on "E" by the time I got back.
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Hi, Ms Soup,
Caution and Checkered took pity on me and paid for my meal. They are very kind.
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Hi, Gail,
Oh, I'm glad they didn't make me do dishes! And, if my gas gauge would have been closer to empty, I might have hopped in with Caution's family for the trip to Dodge!
It was an honor to pay for that meal and I will gladly do it again if that means another visit with you :)
I came over from Lisa´s blog and enjoyed your side of the "story". I´m glad you got home ok, I was going to ask as well, but read in comments that you did.
It´s always nice to meet a fellow blogger. I´ve had the pleasure of meeting 3 of them too. All blog from Paraguay as well.
If you try to go to my blog, it´s put on "private" because I stopped blogging a while ago, but I do still enjoy reading blogs and plan on starting up again soon.
its soooooo fun to meet fellow bloggers!!!!!!!
i am glad you guys got to meet!
hugs and glad youmade it home safe!
I haven't had the opportunity to meet any fellow bloggers yet, but I hope someday that can happen. Sounds like a fun lunch and how sweet of them to pay for your meal.... I would have just died to find I forgot my wallet! :-0
Hi, Caution Flag,
Oh, you are so sweet, as is your family. Such a treat to meet you all!! And, thank you again for breakfast!
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Hi, Betty,
Thank you for stopping over here! You're from Paraguay....neat! And, I'm happy to hear you've had a chance to meet other bloggers, too.
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Hi, Laura,
And, I think you are one of the blogger-meeter pioneers, don't you think?! Your blog was the first place I read of bloggers actually meeting up. And, I'm very happy you and I had a chance to meet, too.
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Hi, Oz Girl,
Yes, I hope you can meet other bloggers sometime. Are there many in Kansas, I wonder?
And, yeah...no kidding....I felt like an idiot telling Caution and her husband that I had forgotten my billfold. Sheesh. I worried they would think I did that all the time in order to get free meals!
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