We woke up to rain on our roof at our campspot at the fairgrounds, but it didn't last long. We got up and around and were really enjoying the morning as the start of a four-day weekend. Brock took Heidi for a run, but that didn't turn out as he'd hoped and he ended up coming back to the trailer early in frustration because she was not a very encouraging running partner (too many potty stops). AND Brock once again encountered inexplicably locked gates when he'd hoped to get out on the Katy Trail so he didn't end up making it there.
Brock had been hoping for quite a while to get the trailer and Yukon washed up and since we were the only ones at the park and didn't think we'd bother anyone, we went ahead and did a quick scrub. Half the crew worked on the outside of the trailer, while the other half worked on readying the inside for travel. Then we switched, and the wash crew came in for showers while "wash shift two" went out and washed up the Yukon.
Once we got fully ready in our sparkling vehicles, we were excited to be getting going. This weekend we get to have a great reunion of sorts. Greg and Sarah, our good friends and also Brock's business partners, are coming down from Alaska. Our friends the Rosteck's, Jim, Sharon and Joe, (who we knew in Anchorage, but who now live in Great Falls, Montana) are meeting up with Greg and Sarah in Colorado and together they are driving to meet us in Springfield at the home of mutual friends, Tim and Gwen Slabaugh, who we also knew in Anchorage, but who now live here. It has been over ten years since we saw Tim and Gwen! The reunion group is to be joined from Michigan by Russ and Sharon Cox, whose daughter Penny, as a teenager, babysat toddler Brighton and Brynna for us, in Anchorage. Our camp director, Auntie Betty Gwaltney, who is everyone's friend, but we are just having the privilege of getting to know, is currently still residing in Anchorage, and she completes the reunion group.
The drive from Sedalia to Springfield is under three hours and we had a pretty uneventful drive. We did remember once we were almost to Springfield that we needed dog food. We tried to pull into a feed store to see if they carried it, but they had just closed 6 minutes before we arrived. Then we decided to go ahead and find a Walmart and grab the dog food and eat lunch in the parking lot. We found one using Tom's (gps) custom point of interest search and he started to direct us there, but nearly right away the road narrowed considerably. Within a very short distance we saw a "Loose gravel and fresh oil" sign which is just what you want to see when you've just washed your vehicles. ;o) We contemplated looking for a place to turn around because the road seemed dangerously narrow for our big beast, but soon we were halfway and then we made it the rest of the way.
It was very hot and humid and lunch wasn't all that appealing, but then we were on the road again with less than a half hour's drive before we would arrive at Tim and Gwen's.
We followed the gps until it directed us to the lane that Tim and Gwen live on. We really doubted whether we could make the turn and actually bypassed the driveway on the first pass. We then turned around on the next road and decided to give it a try. It was tight, but thankfully we made it and once we got up by their house, we had enough room to park and Tim and Gwen provided us with water and electricity. We are so grateful.
We had an excellent barbecued pork loin dinner with asparagus that the kids got to help pick from Tim and Gwen's garden. It was so fun getting to catch up with Russ and Sharon and Tim and Gwen and to start getting to know Betty. The rest of the gang was on track to arrive sometime around 10 pm. What an amazingly long day of driving they would have!!
All our kids loved, loved, loved having "fresh meat" to perform their card tricks on! It was fun to watch. We all laughed so much.
We let the kids stay up to wait for the late arrivers. Once they got in, we had such a fun time together. We all laughed so hard our faces ached. It was such a joy to see the joy in good friends being able to fellowship together after a long separation. We talked about how awesome it was that a reunion like this could take place and how God orchestrated all the details to allow it to happen.
We are so grateful to God and to Tim and Gwen for opening up their home to all of us and showing such gracious hospitality.
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