June 22, 2018

Bellbrook, Ohio to St. Louis Missouri

Well the time went too fast but it was time for breakfast and then to say goodbye to John and Sajona . We appreciated their nice hospitality and look forward to our next time getting together.

We were pleased to be able to arrange a nice brunch with our nephew Brian and his wife Laura and their two children, Ian and Alena.  We arrived a bit early so we walked around the plaza in front of the nearby minor league baseball stadium.  Patti couldn't resist one of the big baseballs. We ate at the restaurant where Laura works at manager. We hadn't seen them for a couple years, and it was great to catch up. It's amazing how those kids just keep on growing. We would like to have stayed longer but we had to get on the road.

So driving went pretty smoothly and we quickly move the rest of Ohio, and then the  width of both Indiana and Illinois, and finally we crossed the Mississippi into Missouri.

The plan was to get a hotel close by the Gateway arch in St. Louis which we did. However, you can't always tell what the neighborhoods are like from the Internet and it turned out this was a very isolated hotel in a warehouse, industrial district. The hotel itself was okay but there was literally no restaurant for miles around. The desk clerk told us we could drive into downtown St. Louis or  we could order pizza for delivery. After a long driving day neither of those sounded good. However, Dick was resourceful when he remembered we had lots of random food in our car. So, we pieced together a dinner from our cooler and box of snacks. We were both worn out and ready to go to bed.  We knew we had another big day starting in the morning.

June 21, 2018

Bellbrook, Ohio

The AT&T people finally fixed the cable and Internet problems yay we enjoyed sitting outside in the backyard, and Then the rains came back.  We regularly got to watch John's fish get excited when he fed them.  He has had some of these fish for nearly 20 years.

We were happy to have the two of us, John And Sajona, and Caetey and Tim all go out to lunch together. What a treat when you get to have some special time with family.

Back to John And Sajona's house where we had a lovely soup dinner . Great on a rainy night. Then we stayed up late enjoying sharing all the stories of adventures and dealing with pets as well as tests that have invaded our homes at various times. There were many funny stories that had us laughing and laughing. A really precious time. Finally we had to stop laughing and go to bed.

July 20, 2018

Bellbrook Ohio

We woke up to a rainy day! Hearing the thunder and seeing the rain really pour is something we miss living in San Diego. Dick’s brother, John, spent the morning doing battle with AT&T regarding his cable and phone. And his Internet, television and line-line phone has been out for three days. Super frustrating!

Dick has lived in Dayton for a total of over 20 years.  There is a strange familiarity about the city, even though he has been gone for over 30 years.  The skyline still looks the same

Dick headed to a delightful lunch with his friend Jeannie, his first wife with whom he still has a good relationship. Had a good time catching up on each of their families and their lives, especially since she has recently retired. Always great to connect up with people who have known us for a long time. .

While Dick was out to lunch, Patty had a nice time hanging out with John and Sajona. She also helped us get some laundry done. You can pack much lighter on these long trips if you have access to washers and dryers. Yay for clean clothes!

We were delighted to be invited for dinner to our niece Katie and her boyfriend Tim in their home. Tim cooked us a lovely dinner. And, we enjoyed seeing their home. Lots of good conversation, time to catch up and learn new things about Tim. We really appreciated meeting him. A very high-quality guy.

Then time to return to John and Sajona's.  More conversation into the night and then off to bed.