A Driving Trip, The Cousins and More...

 Cathy has often pointed out to me what she thinks is lies that I have written on this blog. Hey! I try to get it right! This time though I wrote down all the important stats on our recent trip through America's heartland to Indiana and back with stops along the way so this is really right:

Drove 1795 miles in 28 hours and 4 minutes. 

As near as I can account used 62 gallons of gas. The old 2013 Ford Cmax Hybrid got 35 miles to the gallan just like it did the day it was brand new. It's closing in on 180,000 total miles. 

Gas cost was $179. That's still cheaper than a round trip flight for one to Chicago.

The folks we visited were Cathy's sister Margert and brother in law Kevin in Evansville, Indiana.  

Cathy with the nieces Grayson and Addison. While I'm sorry not to catch everyone looking this was a good photo of Grayson. We were very well entertained in Evansville with good food, musical events around the city and the zoo.    

On the way up to Evansville, which is basically a drive on Interstate 69 (old Highway 59) till they name it something else we made a slight reroute to Holt's Summit, Mo to visit cousin Mary. Mary used to live right on the way to Evansville or if we made a drive to Chicago but has recently moved to be nearer son David and daughter in law Stacy. 

Looks like Mary is doing fine. Her duplex is spacious. Though she does still drive a bit she walks to the doc, shopping, dining out and you can tell that this activity is helping maintain her health. She did relate a humorous story of the call someone made about the suspicious person with an umbrella wearing a purple coat walking the neighborhood but that's all straightened out now. 

Plenty of room for the doll collection.      

There is a pool in the area for resident use so if you visit Mary, bring your suit. 

Mary is the daughter of my mother's sister Lola. Keep and eye on those two in the photo. Might be more suspicious people reports filed.   

From Evansville we looked at the map and there was cousin Carolyn and husband Doug about one and a half hours away in Elkton, Kentucky. We visited before on a trip to a music festival in Kentucky and they came her to a fish fry several years ago. Carolyn is the daughter of my mom's brother Alec. Alec and her mom Margie divorced many years ago so that separation has been a barrier to getting to know each other that we have kicked it apart by making the effort to make these visits to each other. As Carylon put it herself, "we have wasted too much time getting to know each other." Great people. If we hung out more I bet we could trigger a suspicious person report.   

Here's a photo I'd guess from around 1960ish of standing Carylon, grandma Pinky, ad me and my dad.  

We stopped in Texarkana, Tx on the way back to visit friends John and Janet who used to live in Lufkin. When they moved to Texarkana Janet met a woman at church who when told they were from Lufkin said "I have a cousin in Lufkin named Cathy." Janet said, "my best friend in Lufkin is named Cathy." So here we are, Cathy George is Cathy's mother's mother's brother's granddaughter. Hope you follow that. She is married to Jeffery who has family here in Lufkin that we also know.  

Our stay in Texarkana was pleasant. We mostly drove around in John's award winning 1987 Pontiac Safari Station Wagon, 4000 pounds of fun eating BBQ and driving up and down Stateline Avenue hollering out and people in Texas on one side of he street and those in Arkansas on the other. 

See, if I come visit you I'm easily and cheaply entertained, well beside the fact that a 1987 Pontiac Safari gets 0 MPG in the pricy, declining years of carbon burning.      

These visits were great. As I got home and reviewed I did not really take the photos I usually do when traveling but I think the memories and the people I shared them with will mean every bit as much as something floating around in the digital space. I think I got it right.