Good morning all. Well we got to Missouri with no problems...but it could have been sticky if we were one day behind on our schedule. Here's what I mean. On Wed, we landed in State College, Pa...which happens to be where Penn State is located. Their homecoming is this weekend. In looking at the brochure from the campground, it seems there are lots of things in the area to do. We actually thought about it for a while, but decided since it was going to be in the high 30's overnight, it was better just to get on the road. The next morning we woke up to rain...not a nice little drizzle...but RAIN. We got the camper hooked up before it got too bad and got on the road. As we're going along, Mark said...look at these rain drops, they look like snow. It was cold enough to be snow, and there were some flakes, but not a lot. Of course it rained most of the day Thurs., which was appropriate since it was our anniversary 31 and counting!)...who can ever forget the outdoor wedding we had in the midst of a tropical depression???!!! By the end of the day, we were out of the rain and went out to a nice dinner to celebrate the day. Fast forward to Saturday...we are listening to the news before we headed out to Cuba. The weather man said, that State College, Pa had had over 9 INCHES OF SNOW on Th...tailgating for homecoming was cancelled, because the parking lots were under so much snow...they were going to have to bus the fans in!!!! Just think, if we had delayed our departure to play tourist, we would still be in Pa. and buried in the snow!

We for sure have gotten spoiled driving through the mountains and valleys of New England. And we have been there right at the peek of colors for all of the trees, so it has been gorgeous. Once we hit Illinois, it was flat and we were going through lots of farmland. And the colors have only just started turning in this part of the country. Hopefully when we get down into the Ozark Mts. later this week we will see more color again. Believe me, it will be quite an adjustment to come back to everything being just one color...green!

When we got to my sister's house, we were able to let the dogs loose in the yard and they ran around like maniacs for quite a while. It was a nice change from having to be on the leash all the time. Remember I told you all how we had been letting them go off the leash if the campground wasn't crowded...well. We had gotten back to Springfield,Vt. so I could teach one of my classes. Mark took the dogs out for a walk and just as he took them off of the leash, he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye and Kasey took out running after whatever it was. Mark's calling for her to come back and nothing...he came back to the camper and got me and we tried to go in the woods a little bit, calling for her all the while with not luck. I went back to the camper just in case she should come back. Mark is still out looking for her when he ran into some ladies who live and work at the campground, so they joined the search. After about an hour and a half, they went and got their dogs to help in the search. About that time, I heard one of the ladies say...is this the dog? I went out and sure enough there was Kasey...soaking wet and sitting next door at the campsite we had been in the last time we came through for a class. The ladies told us there are a lot of deer in the woods, so they felt pretty sure that was what she saw. There is also a lake about a half mile away that is still on the camp property and that's where she took a swim. What a relief to get her back. Believe you me, she was exhausted that night and slept like a log...of course she attached herself to Mark and wouldn't budge...even when he was on the bed watching TV.

Woke up to frost on the ground this morning...but there is no call for snow in the forecast, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. Will be visiting with family through the week and then head down to Branson for the family reunion. One of my friends from nursing school will be coming down on Sunday so we can visit through the day. That will be nice.

So stay warm everybody...will talk at you soon.

Terry and Mark