On the Road Again.....

It's off to the Midwest - also known as "God's Country" to some folks - to visit mom and dad, attend a family reunion AND hand deliver mom's new bed socks! She's going to be so happy!

Anyhow, I managed to snap a few photos along the way and thought I'd share them with you.



Leaving Pennsylvania and entering Ohio, I captured this beautiful riverview. I just love the calm serenity.



Usually, there's much more traffic on the interstates in the summer, but I believe that the gas prices are keeping many folks closer to home this year. The roads were pretty lonely - even in the middle of the day!

Shortly after merging onto Rt. 80 in Ohio and entering the midwest, you come to a town called, "Lordstown". Really makes you think you're entering "God's Country" doesn't it? I guess the town elders decided to capitalize on that idea when naming the town, eh?


Now for my personal favorite. I LOVE this overpass - I think it's so picturesque! I always look for it whenever I travel to Illinois. It's at approximately the halfway point of my drive. FINALLY, I've captured a good picture of it!

Once you're halfway through Ohio, things pretty much flatten out for the rest of the journey. Western Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois are all pretty much "as flat as a pancake"! I love the mountains, but there's something special about the flat farmland as well. The barns, the green fields, the silos.....

On arrival in central Illinois, I checked out the corn crops. The basic rule of thumb for corn is "knee high by the 4th of July". As you can see, this corn is WELL above the knee high mark! Lucky for us, the corn here is doing well and not affected by all the flooding in the western part of the state.

At mom's, I assessed the "state" of her bed socks - it was SHOCKING! These socks were OBVIOUSLY well liked and VERY well used! I don't think I've even seen larger holes in sock! Unbelievable! I can't believe she wore holes this big into her socks!









I gave mom 2 wrapped presents when I arrived in Illinois - a book and a box that I'd hoped camouflaged the socks "hidden" inside. She was too smart for that! She tossed the book aside and tore into the box containing the socks. She was jumping for joy and immediately "modeled" them for us - both with the cuffs up and folded down. Needless to say, she was absolutely thrilled with the socks.










My big question now is what can I do to the socks to make them just as soft and pliable on her feet, but more durable? I'm thinking I can paint the "anti-slip" stuff that you can dip tools in to make it both non-slip AND durable (one brand is "Plasti Dip"). Or perhaps I should put leather pads on the heels....and possibly the ball of the foot. It appears that the heels are the only real problem though. The big challenge is to make the socks more durable but just as comfortable to wear in bed. I may try each method - a leather pad (just on the heel) on one pair of socks and painting the "tool dip" on the heel and ball of the foot on another pair of socks. I LOVE experiments....and I'm sure mom will love the fact that she's getting two more pairs of socks!