Ohio to Illinois...

Visiting the Sheehans in Ohio was a treat to say the least. Jeff and Cindy are always a blast to hang out with, but this was the first time I had ever spent time with them in their own home as opposed to in Ithaca visiting Zach, or in LA visiting Zach. They were so generous to completely open their home to all four of us and all seven of our pets. They fully encouraged us to raid the fridge and any other supply we might need. On top of all of that they made us a home cooked meal, with home brewed beer, and homemade apple pie for desert. It was amazing! After our delicious dinner we sat around the living room talking and watching the puppies play with the Sheehans' dog Vera, who was at least 5 times the size of Sophie and Charley. It was very entertaining:


Sophie, however, got so excited she peed on the floor right under Jeff's seat.


The next day we raided the fridge for lunch and headed out to Illinois. The ground became flat and the dense clusters of forest gave way to farm land. I became overwhelmed with the notion that we were realy on our way, and past the point of no return. I've only driven through the Mid-West once before, and the flat land, the huge sky, and the days of road noise made me break down into hysterics in a gas station in Nebraska. I'm not going to lie... the Mid-West makes me nervous. The people are friendly, but I can't escape the feeling that the sky is going to fall in on me, or the land is going to swallow me up. On top of all that I'm terrified of tornadoes. I've never been any where near one before, and I'd like to keep it that way. Aunt Kim, who's home we were on route to, called us earlier that day to tell us of all the tornado sightings near her, and to tell us to be careful. The sky was dark and I was not happy about it:



I was thrilled when we arrived at Aunt Kim's and there were actual rolling hills in her neighborhood and the sun was shining. I have to sort through more pictures, but when I do, I'll post about the amazing time we had with the Bumgarner clan in Peru, Illinois.