From Beckley, WV

We got off at 6:10 this morning...up at five and even with no dog to slow us down...we didn't get off as soon as we planned. Not to worry, we made our first milestone...Beckley...some 612 miles down the road by 5:00. Aleene did lunch on the fly and we nibbled at veggies and other not so good things to be eating and did not stop for lunch. Gas was plentiful, but ranged from 3.08 to 3.48. The high was in Indiana and the low in Ohio.

I got a WiFi connection in the motel and am able to write tonight. We plan to get up early and get to Blackstone, VA tomorrow just after lunch. The "party" will be Sunday afternoon and we will head back home on Monday with the biggest part of the drive on Tuesday. We want to come back a different route than we came to see other sights. WV is so twisty and curvy it does not matter which you come you travel it, you begin to get motion sick. Actually, we want to cut over to Columbus and try that rather than going back through Akron which has a lot of construction.

Gary reports that Cooper is gaining daily and is in a "big boy" crib and out of his isolette. No word yet on when he might come home...but his original due date in October is coming and that is a rule of thumb I understand.

Prayers for Lily, Cooper, Ardie, Katrina victims, Jeff and Mary, Chick and Bruce, Dave and Midge...and while I am at it, Jim and Nancy, and Amy, Brendon, Truman and Asher....there, God, you know my thoughts.