May 13th through 15th...

May 13th

We spent a peaceful night at the campground...$40, sure different than 27 years ago. The WiFi was sure handy though. I spent a couple of hours behind the wheel today; just have to remember to position the truck closer to the center line, make wide turns, and don't forget that I have a camper back there! LOL! We drove by Camp Nelson National Cemetery

and stopped in to pay our respects; so sad to see so many buried there.

There were fresh graves being dug as we passed slowly by. I pray that we don't have to lay one of our children here. We drove on to Nicholasville and stopped at the combination police and fire department. While I was waiting, shot a picture of all the paper I shuffle through during the day.

We want to be able to reach as many as we can. Bill came out with 2 patches.

The one from the fire department, the firefighter took from his own uniform. We talked to Officer Todd and found out it's Police Week. Craig Sutter cycles from here on the Unity ride to Washington, D.C. We even got to take a selfie with Todd! (This one's for you Deb!)

So cool! Thank-you for what you do! The next stop was Southern Acres Christian Church in Lexington, KY to see if they would like Bill to speak on the way back. 27 years ago, the youth group there cycled with Bill and had large signs on the church van that said, "Stop abortion, Stop killing babies!" I mention in my old journal how blessed we were here. This time, the reaction was cool....so prayer warriors, pray for conviction to pour down on Southern Acres Christian Church and light the fire once more. Our police, firefighters, and military are dying every day in defense of you and me. Can't we at least say, "Thank-you"? Bill stopped in at the Woodford County Fire Department and received a patch. He was received warmly and with enthusiasm; so different from where we just were. Are America's churches truly not interested in the lives of our public servants and military? Perhaps God wants us to just show our appreciation for these brave men and women....we so want to share with others to show their appreciation too. Well, the trip is just starting, pray for direction for us. The Kentucky State Police station was right along the highway, so Bill and I stopped in and met a very nice P.R. officer who gave us several patches and encouraged us to go to their Facebook page.

We took pictures around the waiting area with her permission

and went back out to our camper for some lunch. Almost every officer we've met so far had a bullet proof vest on....how many of us have to do the same? We continued on and at the next red light we saw a young man in a black vehicle with "Fraternal Order of Police" on his license plate. We hollered over, "Thank-you!" and Bill quickly told him what we were doing. He hollered, "Sa-weet!" and we both went our separate ways. We spent the night at a very nice Yogi Bear Camp Resort in Scottsburg, IN.

$34.04 and we had full hookups in a quiet spot. No WiFi though!

May14th

We spent a restful night and were on the road by 7:30 AM. We needed to put some miles down, so drove 500 miles! In headwinds all day! Went through 3 tanks of gas....Yikes! Sometimes the Garmin is a never-ending source of amusement...we started the day with this message...."Turn left on Our Demise Road". Yikes! I don't think I want to go down that road this soon! Since we decided to go on the highway, there's not a lot to tell you about. We saw an old abandoned motorhome and stopped to take a couple of shots of it.

It had "Dare to Dream" on the side.

What happened to that dreamer? Were his dreams realized...or dashed... So allow me to inspire you to follow those dreams of yours before sickness or age take their toll. We were 2 very tired people when we finally found Trailside RV Park in Grain Valley, MO. $34.20 with water and electric but alas, again no WiFi.....that worked anyway. Will definitely need to find a place where we have internet access tonight. Trailside was nice but right next to the interstate and the traffic went by all night. That was a little much for this little country girl.

May15th

We got up early to got to Mike and Marisa's church this today. Now, I'm a Baptist and we were in a Catholic church this morning. I was respectful and watched the service with interest. I appreciated the respect shown to God and was amazed by the formality of the ceremony. Have the rest of us lost our sense of awe of God? I know that as a born again Christian I have freedom in Christ, but how far should that freedom go?   Our friends took us to lunch at Cheddar's and we had good food and conversation. Thank-you Mike and Marisa! While we were there, we saw 4 officers sharing a meal at another table. Bill and I went over to thank them for all that they do. They relaxed and we all chatted and shook hands. Bill gave them each a card and told them what we were doing. To a man, they all thanked us and relayed how no one thanked them anymore. Thanks guys! We appreciate you! Jason gave us his card so we'll be going to the Facebook page to share. They also told us about how 3 of them have their own business called, "Hero Outfitters" maybe some of you out there can give them some business.  So we're easing on down the road towards Victorian Acres RV Park. Hope it lives up to the name. :) Can't you just picture lots of gingerbread molding on the office building with hanging pots of beautiful flowers....:) I'll let you know what it really looks like! LOL! Just entered Iowa. Lots of big fields with irrigation pivots. The landscape has flattened out now and you can see to the faraway hills. Here we are at Victorian Acres! Very nice place! Two big pots of flowers on either side of the office door and lace curtains at the windows. Sigh, I think I'm home! :)

P.S. Here are a couple more shots of patches we received from generous officers and firefighters from Versailles

and Salem.

Thank-you all so much for your service!