LATE UPDATE DUE TO SOME WI-FI CHALLENGES....BUT ALL IS WELL. Pic above taken in Colby, Missouri...looks pretty threatening!
Today, i.e. July 29th, began with Patrick S. (P.S.) treating me to the free breakfast offered at the hotel. We headed out from Columbia, Missouri about 10:20am CST (earliest start so far). The road was free and clear, we were able to make great strides as the day progressed, averaging between 75 to 78 miles traveled each hour on the road. Our first stop was around 2:20pm for gas, doggy walk and a couple of personal sized pizzas from Pizza Hut. After 1 hour got back on road and drove to Colby, Missouri just east of entering into Mountain Time Zone....53 miles from Colorado. We stopped and low and behold the mail came through, I received a birthday card from P.S. and an expanded memory card for my camera. Coooool, watch or much improved photo reporting now!!!
Colby was first Starbucks we saw for hundreds of miles, so we took the opportunity to imbibe in some of that.
We shifted seating arrangements, PS taking wheel for a while (500 miles completed up to this point - 6pm CT) and we plodded on.
Arrived inside Colorado border about 7:30pm MT and stopped at welcome center. It was COLD,reportedly in the low 50s, a surprise (especially for a Florida resident) and not much shelter on the highway either. Played around with dog and moved on with the goal to be another 2 to 3 hours of driving.
Got into Denver area about 9pm and stopped for gas at Harlan St. exit off of I-70. PS has friend from Long Island who lives in Denver and area but we did not know where. He called while we were filling up on gas and low and behold he lives 4 blocks from gas station. He came over and visited with us at gas station for about 20 mins. at 9:30pm. Some "coincidence"!!
We were getting tired and shortly after that about 11pm we checked into hotel. Completed close to 800 miles today!! BIG DAY!!
hey great, i am now at this time in life not crazy about long trips but it's good for you to be doing so well and seeing the country. joe and i used to talk about driving over to the west coast, maybe if i recover enough we might get to see gatlinburg. ha. good luck to you two.
ReplyDeletelove, Pat
Synchronicity at work again boys. Enjoy the ride ! Rick in Venice, FL
ReplyDeleteHello Patrick and a belated happy birthday on your "50 something!" I can't remember just which one but know you've surely packed an icredible amount of experiences into your young life's journey! It's exciting to hear about your latest adventure. At our stage in life we can't even imagine putting in the number of miles you drive every day. Hope your'e enjoying the diverse countryside along the way.
ReplyDeleteMy sister lives in Columia, MO, which is a nice college town. Of course everything looks the same from the highway except the topograhy. Her daughter lives in Ft. Collins, CO, a very nice college town. It's on the edge of the Rocky Mts. and about an hour from Denver. By the time you read this you must be much farther west than Denver. Bill and I have traveled all over the west and love CO - well not the eastern part, but the mountainous part. There are a lot of great places to visit out there.
If you decide to go north of CA before returning east, you will love that part of the country. At least I do. One of our sons lives in Seattle and it's a wonderful city. The scenery is spectacular, as it is so many places in the west. Bill and I were just there for two weeks which was a treat.
Soon my comment will be longer than yours. This is my first attempt at using a blog, other than just reading contents as if an e-mail. You CAN teach an old dog new tricks! We love hearing about your trip and you. It brings up many wonderful memories for us of traveling around the US by car. Keep the messages coming!
We love you! Jean