Our goal was to be home sometime Tuesday so we could be available on Wednesday morning for Franklin's surgery. (Tonsils & adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears).
Monday morning came and we were on our way. First stop....the Pilot truck stop in Punta Gorda for coffee then back on the road! The weather for the first few hours was foggy but it finally lifted once we were north of Tampa. Traffic wasn't bad and we made good time getting through Atlanta before rush hour. Likewise we made it through Chattanooga and Nashville without much hassle. We arrived in Clarksville, Tn. before the sun went down.
Once in the room I switched on the weather channel to find that dreaded "wintry mix" was forecast for central to northern Illinois for the next day. Right where we're headed! At least they have snowplows and salt trucks up north.
Tuesday we were on the road early again traveling in a light mist but above freezing temps. Fortunately that was the story of the day. We never saw below freezing temperatures so the mist remained just that with no ice on the road. We arrived home around 4 pm, 1400 miles later.
That evening Franklin & Ellie came to visit with Ellie spending the night. Of course she ended up between Pam & I sometime during the night.
Franklin's surgery went well and he came back to our house for a couple of days of rest and quiet.
Pam enjoyed being the caregiver but in the process got sick herself for a few days.
By Saturday Franklin went home. Pam rested. And I drove down to Addam's new house with my parents' to help him move in. Most of his belongings had been stored in those POD's and the big stuff like the appliances were already installed so the moving wasn't that bad. Still, I don't like moving!
There are still several items to complete but none that prevented them from moving in.
While we were home our hometown of Galena made national news because of a train derailment along the Burlington Northern tracks that run along the back waters of the Mississippi. Roughly 20 tank cars carrying crude oil derailed with a couple of them exploding sending oil onto the ground and flames into the air. Fortunately no one was hurt and none of the oil made it to the water. The response teams were at the scene in no time. The scene was secured and the remaining spilled oil was left to burn out.
A major focal point once Franklin was on the road to recovery was the celebration of Ellie's 3rd birthday. If you've met Ellie you would know that just one birthday celebration isn't enough! We had a low key party at the local Happy Joe's Pizza restaurant on the evening of her birthday complete with the horn blowing and singing of happy birthday by the staff.
That was followed by a full blown party at our house on Saturday with cake and presents!
The party was a success and the Princess went home with quite a haul.
After the party Pam & I got the house back in shape with time to spare before Mike & Nancy arrived. We were all invited to Kim & Lu's for dinner but thought it would be best if Mike and Nancy had an escort since as Badger fans they would be entering into the enemy Iowa Hawkeye territory.
The trip was a success with plenty of food and drink for all and a toast to St. Paddy to boot!
Are we happy or what?
The trip home was a whirlwind for sure. Weather wise we went from -5 and -11 the first couple of nights to highs in the 50's by the time we left. We were kept busy by family and friends and even stopped at the car dealership on our drive back to Florida to get a new key fob to replace the one that got wet in our boat flood.
We arrived back in Ft. Myers to 80 degree temps and sunshine. Now to figure out where or what to do for the Spring and Summer.
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